Are you a frequent flyer? And if so, have you noticed flights getting… shakier lately?
If that answer is also “yes,” new studies conducted in the U.K.
may have the answer.
A certain type of turbulence that occurs along the planet’s jet stream has increased by 15%, according to research at the University of Reading.
And there’s a good probability that it’s only going to get worse.
“Several scientific studies, including by myself and colleagues at the University of Reading, have projected that clear-air turbulence will increase over time as a result of climate change,” writes Isabel Smith, a turbulence researcher at the University of Reading’s Department of Meteorology, in an official release.
“This is because the upper atmosphere is warming faster in the tropics, as a result of greenhouse emissions, than in the polar regions.
This greater difference in temperature between low and high latitudes increases wind shear in the jet streams, the high-level wind currents that blow 10 km above our heads where planes fly, which in turn enhances the formation of turbulent patches of air,” she continued.
Clear-air turbulence, the study explains, isn’t any more damaging to the plane but can be much more harrowing for passengers since it happens without warning.
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