Researchers at Britain’s Reading University are blaming climate change for an increase in clear-air turbulence that has been noted by pilots and passengers around the world.
Incidents of turbulence, which can be sudden and extreme, have increased especially over the U.S. and North Atlantic, according to the study which used over 40 years of reports to plot the trend, but it has increased also on popular flight routes across Europe, the Middle East and South Atlantic.
Turbulence occurs when warmer air from CO2 emissions hits the jet stream, causing the wind to unexpectedly change direction or speed in a specific area. Scientists have long predicted that turbulence would increase, but it is apparently happening more and sooner than expected.
The findings established that the total annual duration of severe turbulence rose by 55 per cent from 17.7 hours in 1979 to 27.4 hours in 2020. Meanwhile, the moderate turbulence which occurred during this time increased by 37 per cent, from 70 hours to 96.1 hours. Finally, the total annual duration of light turbulence was 546.8 hours in 2020, 17 per cent higher than the 466.5 hours recorded in 1979. It appears that the more severe the turbulence, the more it is increasing.
