Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

Climate change will make in-flight turbulence more common and take-offs more difficult

These risks will become serious in a couple of decades, but we need to act now.

Tibi Puiu by Tibi Puiu
August 4, 2016
in Climate, News, Science

Aircraft Climate Change
Credit: Pixabay

The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) assessed the risks the aviation industry will be facing as climate change is set to intensify in the coming decades. Among the biggest vulnerabilities, the authors highlight an increase occurrence of turbulence, take-off difficulties, icing incidents as well as dust storms that might threaten the engines. All of these vulnerabilities need to be addressed in upcoming avionics design as well as airport infrastructure to cope with future threats, if we’re to avoid potentially catastrophic accidents.

These risks will become serious in a couple of decades, but we need to act now

“Aviation is an extremely risk averse business. Climate change poses a new set of risks that airports need to assess properly. The last decades have provided a glimpse of the future climate, but the main effects will be more evident three or four decades from now, and onwards,” the report reads.

“There is thus no reason to panic, but much of the airport infrastructure erected today will be there in the new climate.”

As the surface warms, the density of the air decreases and with it the lift force that an airplane’s wings can generate. Essentially, this will make take-offs trickier. To mitigate, airplanes might need to carry fewer passengers or cargo and airports might need to build longer runways. Airports located in high altitudes in subtropical regions are most vulnerable due to this effect. Already, many airports schedule the bulk of their flights for the evening and night when the cooler temperature raises air density, but this window will get slimmer and slimmer in the coming decades.

In other parts of the world, global warming will increase the moisture in the air, which ironically favors icing. This means new airplanes might need to use rubbery coatings that slide ice off, like the one we presented earlier on ZME Science.

“On the other hand, high-altitude icing is also likely to increase with more intense cumulonimbus (CB) clouds,” the report cautions.

“Another possibility is that increased shear within the jet streams at cruising levels may reduce the stability of the atmosphere and increase the likelihood of clear-air turbulence breaking out,” the report said.

Droughts and stronger winds triggered by increased temperatures and more heat energy in the atmosphere could also impact flight safety, and although flying and sea level rise don’t seem to add up the report warns that many airports are vulnerable. For instance, 20 of Norway’s 45 airports are vulnerable to future sea level rise.

“The robustness of aircraft and indeed the robustness of the entire aviation system should be monitored carefully, as the sector will have to prepare for the more extreme meteorological conditions that are expected in the future as the climate continues to change,” the report’s authors cautioned.

 

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Warmer climate will make for more air turbulence, bumpier flights
  2. Finding Nemo is getting difficult because of climate change
  3. Turbulence in space confirmed and measured for the first time
  4. Relativistic computation brings us one step closer to accurately describing turbulence
  5. First commercial space flight set for test flight
Tags: aircraftclimate change

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW