Dangerous clear-air turbulence is worsening due to global warming
Climate change is making high-altitude winds much more volatile.
VIENNA—Scientists at the European Geosciences Union conference last week said there is growing scientific evidence that global warming is driving a big increase in dangerous clear-air turbulence, which is invisible from the cockpit and can surprise pilots and damage aircraft.
Along some busy flight routes, turbulence is projected to “double or treble or quadruple over the next few decades,” said Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science and head of the weather research division at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. “What we find … is that the jet stream regions in both the Northern and the Southern hemispheres are affected.”
As its name implies, clear-air turbulence can happen when there are no visible signs of a weather disturbance, often at or near the boundary of contrasting air masses, moving in different directions and at varying speeds. It can unexpectedly toss large airplanes up and down by several hundred feet, potentially damaging the airframe and injuring passengers and crew.
