The Guardian

Flight turbulence increasing due to climate crisis

Matthew Taylor

The climate crisis is leading to more turbulence during aircraft flights, driving up costs and increasing the risks for passengers and crew, new research has found.

The study discovered that warmer air, caused by carbon emissions, was creating bumpier flights around the world, with severe turbulence in the north Atlantic up by 55% since 1979.

Mark Prosser, from Reading University, a co-author of the study, said every additional minute moving through turbulence increased the wear and tear on aircraft as well as the risk of injuries. “Turbulence can occasionally be dangerous … and it costs the industry $150-$500m annually in the US alone,” he said.

Previous studies have suggested that a warming climate could increase turbulence but Prof Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at Reading, a co-author of the study, said this was the first evidence of it already occurring. “We should be investing in improved turbulence forecasting and detection systems.”

The rapidly changing climate is known to affect air travel. The faster jet stream is increasing travel times, and rising temperatures are reducing the weight aircraft can carry. Carbon emissions from aviation are a significant driver of the climate crisis.

The study, published in the Geophysical Research Letters journal, found that at a typical point over the north Atlantic the total annual duration of severe turbulence increased by 55%, from 17.7 hours in 1979 to 27.4 hours in 2020. Moderate turbulence rose from 70.0 to 96.1 hours, and light turbulence from 466.5 to 546.8 hours.

Other busy routes over Europe, the Middle East and south Atlantic also had significant turbulence increases.

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2023-06-09T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-09T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://guardian.pressreader.com/article/281835763099646

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