India, Dec. 3 -- A week before COP30 began in Belem, Cyclone Montha formed in the Bay of Bengal and struck the Indian states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha, damaging infrastructure and disrupting lives and livelihoods. Around the same time, Hurricane Melissa originated in the Atlantic Ocean and caused widespread destruction in Jamaica and Cuba. Melissa was one of the strongest Category 5 storms ever recorded, with wind speeds approaching 300 km per hour, knocking out power to nearly three-quarters of the island nation. The hurricane then moved towards Cuba, causing extensive damage, and later to Haiti, where 20 people died, before passing across the Bahamas and near Bermuda. In addition, Typhoon Kalamegi made landfall in Vietnam ...