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Kim Adams: Why air turbulence is getting worse

Delta Air Lines plane leaves the gate, Monday, July 12, 2021, at Logan International Airport in Boston. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer) (Michael Dwyer, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Hi friends!

Let’s talk summer vacation! It’s been a record breaking travel season so far with over 219 million people taking planes, trains and automobiles to various locations around the world. While flying is the quickest way to get to your vacation destination, for some it causes a little (or even a lot) of anxiety especially when it comes to turbulence. Five minutes of moderate to severe turbulence can seem like an hour to even the most relaxed of flyers.

Turbulence is irregular air movement that causes erratic changes in the altitude or angle of the plane which feels like bumpiness, choppiness or in some cases like a sudden ride on a roller coaster.

According to a new study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, severe clear-air turbulence is getting worse…much worse in fact. So, if your flights have seemed a little bumpier than normal recently, it’s not just your imagination. And it’s not thunderstorms that are causing the problem. Clear air turbulence forms in cloudless skies and is usually invisible to a planes radar. The warmer the world gets, the bigger the problem will become.

“Following a decade of research showing that climate change will increase clear air turbulence in the future, we now have evidence suggesting that the increase has already begun,” Paull Williams co-author of the study and an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading said. “Airlines will need to start thinking about how they will manage the increased turbulence.”

In March of 2023 one passenger died due to turbulence on a business flight to New Hampshire. In December of 2022, 35 passengers were injured by severe clear air turbulence on Hawaiian Airlines requiring 20 of them to go the emergency room. That same month, five people were hurt on a United Airlines flight to Houston.

But before you vow to never fly again here is the good news. Turbulence, while scary at times, will not cause a plane to crash. Aircraft today are built to withstand moderate to even severe turbulence.

Even in extreme turbulence pilots are trained to slow the aircraft down to the appropriate speed to the “maneuvering speed” based on the aircrafts weight. Since most injuries occur for passengers and crew not wearing seatbelts, the best way to stay safe is to stay buckled and in your seat as much as possible.

Happy travels!


About the Author
Kim Adams headshot

Emmy-award winning Meteorologist Kim Adams rejoined the 4Warn Weather Team in August 2022. You can watch her on the 4, 5, 6, 10 & 11 p.m. newscasts. You can also find her on your cell phone, tablet, computer (by downloading the 4Warn Weather app), Click on Detroit, and Local 4+.

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