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As temperatures rise, so will turbulence

Severe turbulence is happening more often.

As temperatures rise, so will turbulence
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images
By
Dave Lozo
28 May 2024
less than 3 min read
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Over the weekend, 12 people were injured on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin, just days after a 73-year-old man died of a suspected heart attack and dozens were injured on a Singapore Airlines flight from London to Singapore. In both cases, the growing problem of turbulence was the culprit.

Climate change is strengthening the jet streams that cause turbulence. That’s producing more clear-air turbulence (CAT), which is particularly insidious because it usually occurs when seatbelt signs are turned off, making passengers more likely to be tossed violently.

  • One study concluded that CAT with “severe or greater” turbulence had increased over the North Atlantic by 55% between 1979 and 2020.

  • Another study showed that CAT will become more severe and frequent as the planet gets hotter.

“Our climate is evolving,” US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Sunday on Face the Nation. “Our policies and our technology and our infrastructure have to evolve accordingly, too.”


What’s the fix? Adjusting seat belt rules and flight routes can help for now. One day, Lidar (light detection and ranging), a technology that can spot CAT 20 miles away, may help, but it is currently too large and expensive to become commonplace on commercial airlines.

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