In this Decision Making Exercise (DME), students consolidate learning about Tropical Cyclones and explore the Saffir-Simpson scale for categorising hurricanes and decide whether, or not, to change it in response to global climate change. 

Prior Learning 

It has been assumed that students have already learned about the basics of Tropical Cyclones, where they occur, the weather associated with them and the risks they pose. These are covered in some of the resources available through the link at the bottom of the page. 

Learning Objectives

1. Describe the 5 categories of the Saffir-Simpson scale and recognise that they are based on wind speed rather than risks to humans.
2. Describe the impact of global warming on hurricanes.
3. Evaluate different pieces of evidence related to the suggestion that a 6th category should be added to the Saffir-Simpson scale.  

Editable PowerPoint

Evidence sheets – these could be printed and distributed around the classroom in a marketplace type activity, or shared digitally. 

Student worksheet

Further Reading

Why we need a better way to measure hurricanes