Air travel will be more turbulent due to climate change

Commercial plane

If you are afraid of turbulence, it is likely that in a few years you will stop using the plane so much, and that is climate change will increase the risk of severe turbulence by 149% according to a study published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences.

Why? The reason, experts believe, is that the changes that are taking place in the atmosphere will generate stronger variations in the direction or strength of the wind currents.

What is turbulence?

From here, from the ground, it seems that the air is more or less still, right? However, this is not so. The air is in continuous movement: sometimes it is uniform, but in some areas disturbances appear in the form of eddies. When an airplane passes through any of these turbulent areas, we may have the sensation that it is traveling on a road with many potholes, or a sudden sensation of heaviness or lightness.. We know this as turbulence.

This does not mean that the plane is going to stop flying, but that it is simply in an area where the air is unstable.

Will flying be dangerous in the future?

Turbulence can generate (I include myself) a feeling of quite significant anguish, to the point that if we see that on the day of departure the sky is going to be cloudy, or if a cold or warm front is coming, we choose to change the flight, So yes, we will have to be on the alert for years to come.

In fact, according to this research severe turbulence will increase by 149%, moderate-severe by 127%, moderate by 94% and light-moderate by 75%. Paul Williams, one of the study's authors, said that "even for the most experienced travelers the 149% increase in severe turbulence is cause for alarm."

Cumulus clouds seen from an airplane.

You can read the study here (In English).


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