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Hurricane Melissa Makes Landfall in Cuba, 25 Dead in Haiti

Hurricane Melissa Makes Landfall in Cuba, 25 Dead in Haiti

Hurricane Melissa Makes Landfall in Cuba, 25 Dead in Haiti
Above: A family salvages belongings from the rubble of their home in Santiago de Cuba on Oct. 29, 2025. Image copyright: Yamil Lage/AFP/Getty Images

The Spin

Despite the threat of Hurricane Melissa, Caribbean islands are using innovative debt-for-climate financing to build resilience without crushing debt burdens. Some nations are converting debt into climate-safe investments and launching funds to build stronger infrastructure and cut reliance on external borrowing. Barbados just secured $125 million in savings through groundbreaking partnerships, creating a replicable model for climate adaptation across the Caribbean.

As Hurricane Melissa bears down on the Caribbean, island nations already reeling from climate-fueled disasters face crushing debt. They remain trapped in a devastating cycle where climate disasters pile on more debt while wealthy countries abandon their climate commitments. Hurricane Melissa exposes how $300 billion in mostly-loan pledges falls drastically short of the $1 trillion needed annually and how many small islands are forced into high-cost borrowing just to rebuild.

There'sWhile Hurricane Melissa is undeniably powerful, it is an outlier in a 50%long chancerecord thatof thetropical Nationalsystems Hurricanerather Center'sthan 48-houra annualclear averagesignal trackof errorhuman-driven forclimate Atlanticchange. BasinNatural tropicalvariability, stormscyclical ocean-atmosphere patterns and hurricaneshistorical willextremes bethat 30pre-date nauticalsignificant milesanthropogenic orinfluence lessall forplay anymajor yearroles. beforeAllocating 2031,vast accordingsums to theclimate Metaculusadaptation predictionnow communityrisks misplaced priorities while climate alarmism hinders objective analysis of situations such as this.

Despite the threat of Hurricane Melissa, Caribbean islands are using innovative debt-for-climate financing to build resilience without crushing debt burdens. Some nations are converting debt into climate-safe investments and launching funds to build stronger infrastructure and cut reliance on external borrowing. Barbados just secured $125 million in savings through groundbreaking partnerships, creating a replicable model for climate adaptation across the Caribbean.

As Hurricane Melissa bears down on the Caribbean, island nations already reeling from climate-fueled disasters face crushing debt. They remain trapped in a devastating cycle where climate disasters pile on more debt while wealthy countries abandon their climate commitments. Hurricane Melissa exposes how $300 billion in mostly-loan pledges falls drastically short of the $1 trillion needed annually and how many small islands are forced into high-cost borrowing just to rebuild.

While Hurricane Melissa is undeniably powerful, it is an outlier in a long record of tropical systems rather than a clear signal of human-driven climate change. Natural variability, cyclical ocean-atmosphere patterns and historical extremes that pre-date significant anthropogenic influence all play major roles. Allocating vast sums to climate adaptation now risks misplaced priorities while climate alarmism hinders objective analysis of situations such as this.

Metaculus Prediction

There's a 50% chance that the National Hurricane Center's 48-hour annual average track error for Atlantic Basin tropical storms and hurricanes will be 30 nautical miles or less for any year before 2031, according to the Metaculus prediction community.


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© 2025 Improve the News Foundation. All rights reserved.Version 6.17.0

© 2025 Improve the News Foundation.

All rights reserved.

Version 6.17.0