CCA Leeds

24/01/2026

Would you like to see the Church of England be a more prophetic voice in the face of global overheating and climate breakdown?

Spread the word about our online meeting, on Wednesday 28th January at 6:30pm, for people within the Church of England who are interested in our Stop Crucifying Creation vision.

Join us to ask questions about our Stop Crucifying Creation document, hear how you get involved in 2026, and share your thoughts on how we best promote the vision it outlines.

See comments below for the link to register

Would you like to see the Church of England be a more prophetic voice in the face of global overheating and climate breakdown?

Spread the word about our online meeting, on Wednesday 28th January at 6:30pm, for people within the Church of England who are interested in our Stop Crucifying Creation vision.

Join us to ask questions about our Stop Crucifying Creation document, hear how you get involved in 2026, and share your thoughts on how we best promote the vision it outlines.

Link to register https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jGjIHDSLQ4aUFm6Y-uiZzw #/registration

29/10/2025

Is Hurricane Melissa a “Category 6”? The science says it could be—and the devastation in Jamaica shows what that really means.

Right now, hurricanes are ranked from Category 1 to 5 on the Saffir–Simpson scale, based on their peak wind speeds and the damages they cause. When the scale was created decades ago, the creators thought there was no need for anything higher than Category 5—because at that level, they thought, the damage was already total.

But today, because of climate change, storms are getting even stronger than that. Last year, my colleagues Michael Wehner and Jim Kossin published a study showing that some modern hurricanes now go beyond what the scale can measure. They propose adding a new level, Category 6, for storms with winds over 192 mph (310 km/h), which are far more destructive than a normal Category 5.

These storms aren’t just theoretical. In the past decade, five hurricanes have already crossed that threshold, including Hurricane Patricia (2015) in Mexico. Now, Hurricane Melissa, with officially sustained max winds of 185mph and peak winds of 216 mph, has nearly done the same.*

Mike and Jim also found that the conditions that fuel such extreme storms have nearly tripled over the past 40 years, thanks to climate change. That means more potential for stronger, longer-lasting, and more destructive hurricanes in a warming world.

But the bottom line is clear: climate change isn’t just about numbers or categories. It’s about real people, like those in Jamaica, now facing the heartbreaking aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

* Jim says this number may get revised based on satellite and sonde data.

Read more: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2308901121 and https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2322597121