Nightmare summer travel is upon us as the holiday season coincides with high temperatures and extreme weather that are likely to disrupt flights. By Wednesday of this week, Flight knowledge, a website that tracks air traffic around the world, counts about 30,000 delays and between 900 and 1,400 cancellations per day. In the United States, more severe weather is forecast in the Southwest, as scorching temperatures are forecast to reach over 115 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas and thunderstorms are forecast in the Northeast.
There is no difference in the aviation industry affect the climate; flying is one high-intensity activity carbonresponsible for 2 to 3 percent of global energy-related CO2 emissions. But it is also susceptible to higher temperatures and changing weather patterns. The hot weather causes obvious problems for the aviation industry: It makes working conditions on the runways unbearable, and wildfire smoke reduces visibility. But there are also some surprising effects of climate change on flights, like more turbulentTake-off problems as well as more frequent and severe storms can lead to flight delays or cancellations.
Individual hurricanes or heatwaves are not necessarily related to climate change, but the general trend of a warming world will challenge the aviation industry. “There are problems—and there will be problems in the future—caused by climate change,” says John Knox, a professor of geography at the University of Georgia.
First, there are the immediate effects of sudden heat waves. Last summer, a heat wave in UK runway infrastructure is damaged and leads to delays. As an extreme example of what heat can do, in 2012, high temperatures melt the runway at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, stuck an airplane when its wheels got stuck.
More heat in the atmosphere means the air holds more moisture, making thunderstorms more likely. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby warning More thunderstorms this week as warmer temperatures will cause more delays.
Climate change is also linked to Increasingly serious fire season. This year’s July got off to a rough start after a bad June, when wildfires from Canada billowed smoke. submerge the East Sea And Midwest and flights are affected. Wildfire smoke doesn’t just reduce visibility—it affects the plane’s advanced navigation system. They are well designed to work in rain and fog, but particulate matter from smoke and ash is more irritating. In response to these conditions, the United States Federal Aviation Administration changing air traffic, creating more distance between planes when they land.
But there are also more complex, invisible effects of a warming world. Hotter air is trapped near the ground and cooler air above. A change in temperature gradient affects wind shear or the change in speed and direction between the air near the ground and at higher altitudes. These eddies create obvious air turbulence, which occurs when there are no clouds. Mild turbulence can cause abrupt changes in altitude like a collision, but severe turbulence can cause structural stress on the aircraft.
