Frequency of severe air turbulence could triple due to climate change - Global News

The type of severe air turbulence that sent dozens of Air Canada passengers to hospital Thursday could become a lot more common in the future due to climate change.Story continues belowFinding suitable flight paths to avoid turbulence is also becoming increasingly challenging for airlines as warming temperatures create larger storms and as the jet stream shifts northward, making instances of turbulence stronger and more frequent, says a U.K.-based scientist.“The best scientific evidence is that there is a strong link between climate change and clear air turbulence,” said Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading in the U.K.“When someone says global warming, we think about the fact that it’s getting warmer,” he said. “And that’s true, it is, but the climate is changing in the upper atmosphere as well.”According to research conducted by Williams, the type of “severe clear air turbulence” experienced by passengers aboard Air Canada flight AC33 Thursday – which resulted in an emergency landing at Honolulu’s international airport and sent 37 people to hospital – could double or even triple as carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere rise.WATCH: Climate change could lead to triple frequency of severe air turbulence

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July 13, 2019 at 03:56AM