Aviation: Beryl serves as a reminder of the Caribbean's high exposure to extreme weather

Hurricane Beryl's status as the first major hurricane of the current season is a stark reminder that climate change is creating significant challenges for the aviation industry.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) recently stated that on 2-Jul-2024 Beryl was the earliest Category 5 hurricane observed in the Atlantic on record, and only the second in that category to occur in July after Emily in 2005.

The agency said that Beryl had "brought catastrophic winds and life-threatening storm surge to the southern Windward Islands as it tracked into the Caribbean Sea, where it continued to gain strength".

Many Caribbean markets have outsized exposure to those increasingly strong weather events driven by climate change, and working to combat the effects will be a challenge for the region's aviation sector.