Fasten your seatbelts, passengers: researchers have identified yet another effect of climate change. A recent study published in the Journal of Geophysical Research Letters shows that airplanes are experiencing more turbulence than in previous decades, particularly in the North Atlantic.
Clear-air turbulence can appear out of nowhere, potentially injuring passengers and causing damage to planes, and this type of turbulence has increased in various parts of the world. Researchers predicted this climate change consequence, but the study provides strong evidence that it’s actually happening. In the North Atlantic, the duration of severe turbulence has increased 55 percent, from 17.7 hours in 1979 to 27.4 hours in 2020.
So what’s causing this harrowing increase in turbulence? Scientists say that warmer air from CO2 emissions is increasing wind shear, a sudden change in wind speed or direction over a short distance. The invisible phenomenon costs the airline industry hundreds of millions a year—$150-500 million in the U.S. alone, where one of the largest increases in turbulence was found—in addition to making flights a lot more uncomfortable for passengers.
The solution? Scientists urge investment in improved turbulence forecasting and detection systems so that flights can avoid this rougher air and resulting bumpier flights. Let’s hope that happens, as research shows that turbulence is increasing not just in the U.S. and North Atlantic, but busy flight routes across Europe, the Middle East and the South Atlantic too.