Climate change will significantly increase the incidence of severe turbulence worldwide — as much as tripling it in some spots — by mid-century, resulting in much bumpier flights and a rise in costly in-flight injuries, according to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Climate change will significantly increase the incidence of severe turbulence worldwide — as much as tripling it in some spots — by mid-century, resulting in much bumpier flights and a rise in costly in-flight injuries, according to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
At a typical cruising altitude of 39,000 feet, the study found severe turbulence will be 180 percent more common over the North Atlantic, 160 percent more common over Europe, 110 percent over North America, 90 percent over the North Pacific, and 60 percent over Asia.
“Air turbulence is increasing across the globe, in all seasons, and at multiple cruising altitudes,” Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading in the U.K. and lead author of the new study, said in a statement. “This problem is only going to worsen as the climate continues to change.”
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