Air turbulence is expected to double by 2050 due to climate change: Study

New Delhi: A study revealed that due to Climate Change the “clean air turbulence” is expected to double by 2050.

It said the average strength of turbulence is expected to increase by 10 to 40 percent.

Sometimes bumpy flights happen without significant cloudiness or thunderstorms. This phenomenon is known as “clear-air turbulence” British atmospheric scientist Paul Williams of the University of Reading studies clear-air turbulence.

As its name implies, clear-air turbulence occurs in the absence of clouds or bad weather. It’s caused by wind shear — sudden changes in wind speed and direction — at altitudes above 15,000 feet.

The reason for this increase in clear-air turbulence is climate change, Williams said. As global temperatures increase due to rising levels of greenhouse emissions such as carbon dioxide, the jet stream is experiencing more wind shear.

“Since satellites began observing in 1979, the amount of wind shear has grown by 15%” in the jet stream, he says, referring to a study he co-authored in 2019.

“Severe turbulence at typical airplane cruising altitudes could become two to three times more common. This will impact airspace over large regions of the Northern Hemisphere”said the findings.

“Our changing atmosphere may make future airline flights bumpier by strengthening vertical wind shear in jet streams” said the agency.

Jet streams are fast-moving belts of wind that travel around the planet in wavy, meandering paths in the upper parts of the atmosphere. Aviators often use or avoid them to increase the efficiency of their flights.

Climate change can also make it harder for aircraft to take off. As temperatures rise, air becomes less dense, so planes have a harder time generating the lift they need to become airborne.

Because of this, some aircraft runways may not be long enough for certain planes to take off. It also might force aircraft operators to reduce the takeoff weight of planes and helicopters.

A separate 2020 study by a group of China-based scientists points to increased temperatures in the upper atmosphere contributing to “a profound impact on the wind shear and turbulence in mid-latitudes.”