Climate change could make air travel bumpier, study warns
A new study out this August says climate change is set to make air travel rougher.
Researchers looked at 26 climate models and found that rising global temperatures are likely to affect jet streams—the fast winds planes rely on—causing more unstable skies.
Between 2015 and 2100, wind shear could jump by up to 27%, while the atmosphere's stability is expected to drop by as much as 20%.
Clear-air turbulence will likely happen more often
This means clear-air turbulence (the kind you can't see coming) will probably happen more often, making flights bumpier and harder for pilots to predict.
Right now, turbulence already costs US airlines about $500 million a year, but that number could climb even higher.
Study co-author Professor Paul Williams warned that airlines will need new technology to detect this turbulence.