A Singapore Airlines flight recently hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean and descended 6,000 feet in a span of about three minutes leaving a British man dead and two dozen other passengers injured.
The flight was then diverted and landed in stormy weather in Bangkok. The 73-year-old man reportedly suffered a suspected heart attack after the plane experienced a sudden drop in altitude. Passengers have described scenes on board as “absolute terror” with people and objects suddenly thrown across the cabin.Though severe flight turbulence is rare, it can be deadly.
Scientists at Reading University in the UK studied clear-air turbulence, which is harder for pilots to avoid. Climate change is making the worst turbulence more common. Obviously Global Warming is not only affecting the oceans and the seas but also the skies. Research suggests severe turbulence in jet streams could double or even triple in coming decades if the climate continues to change as expected. The friction around the jet stream between the slower and faster air causes turbulence. The warmer air caused by carbon dioxide emissions increases wind shear in the jet streams, strengthening clear-air turbulence.
As greenhouse-gas emissions like carbon dioxide rise, so do global temperatures.It is learnt that turbulence can also be expected on warm summer days when the sun heats the earth’s surface unevenly. Certain surfaces, such as barren ground, rocky and sandy areas, are heated more rapidly than are grass covered fields and much more rapidly than is water.Severe flight turbulence is a growing threat in a warming world.
