Scientists predict that over the next four decades, climate change will cause more turbulence on flights.
This is due to impact on the jet streams, quick moving, wide winds that rush around earth at the same altitude as places fly.
Temperature difference between the poles and the tropics drives the jet streams forward as they encircle the globe. Climate change heats the Arctic more quickly than the lower latitudes due to the loss of sea ice. This causes the temperature difference to steadily grow, which produces a far stronger jet stream and more turbulence.
The changing jet stream was also responsible for the United Kingdom's strangely freezing spring this year.
A new study uncovered that turbulence frequency on many European and North American flights will double by 2050 with an increased intensity of between 10 and 40 percent.
Nature Climate Change, a scientific journal, published the findings Monday.
The study only targets clear-air turbulence rather than movement due to storms, according to The Guardian.
This won't be the only in-flight disturbance due to climate change: apparently, global warming will also cause spottier wi-fi signals and higher winds, which could lead to delays.
"Air turbulence does more than just interrupt the service of in-flight drinks," Paul Williams, leader of the new research at the University of Reading, said. "It injures hundreds of passengers and aircrew every year. It also...damages planes, with the total cost to society being about 100 million pounds each year."
Other unforeseen issues include having to reroute flights to avoid areas of hard turbulence, which leads to excessive fuel consumption and carbon emissions-the issue that brought about climate change in the first place.
Evidence already exists that clear-air turbulence rose in the past 54 years by 40-90 percent in Europe and North America. This number will certainly heighten if climate change continues the way it's been going, Williams said.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
