Search Here

Brace yourself for a bumpy transatlantic flight in the near future which will be caused by the increasing climate change, scientists warned Monday.

According to Scientific American, researchers Paul D. Williams and Manoj M. Joshi found that mid-century passengers will be bounced around more frequently and more strongly.

Paul Williams, at the University of Reading who led the new research, said: "Air turbulence does more than just interrupt the service of in-flight drinks. It injures hundreds of passengers and aircrew every year. It also causes delays and damages planes, with the total cost to society being about $153 million (£100 million) each year."

The zone in the North Atlantic affected by turbulence could also increase, the researchers noted after using climate simulations to fast-forward to the year 2050.

"Clear-air turbulence is especially problematic to airliners, because it is invisible to pilots and satellites," said Manoj Joshi at the University of East Anglia, who also worked on the new study. There is evidence to suggest this has been blowing more strongly, and under some scenarios could be prone to more of the instabilities associated with turbulence as the Earth's climate warms.

The study, which used the same turbulence models that air traffic controllers use every day, found that the frequency of turbulence on the many flights between Europe and North America will double by 2050 and its intensity increase by 10-40%.

"'Moderate or greater turbulence' has a specific definition in aviation. It is turbulence that is strong enough to bounce the aircraft around with an acceleration of five metres per second squared, which is half of a g-force. For that, the seatbelt sign would certainly be on; it would be difficult to walk; drinks would get knocked over; you'd feel strain against your seatbelt."