Flight Turbulence Is Actually Getting Worse
Clip: Season 51 | 1m 48sVideo has Closed Captions
It’s not all in your head - flights really are bumpier these days.
The culprit is a lesser-known kind of turbulence that’s been increasing since 1979. So how does it work, and what’s causing the rise?
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Flight Turbulence Is Actually Getting Worse
Clip: Season 51 | 1m 48sVideo has Closed Captions
The culprit is a lesser-known kind of turbulence that’s been increasing since 1979. So how does it work, and what’s causing the rise?
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship- [Narrator] Have you taken a flight recently and found it unusually bumpy?
Turns out it's not in your head.
Turbulence is actually getting worse.
You're probably already familiar with one cause of turbulence, thunderstorms, and mountain ranges can also cause bumps in the flight path too, usually downwind from the ridge.
But one kind you might be less familiar with has been increasing, too.
Since 1979, scientists have seen a 55% increase in severe clear air turbulence over the North Atlantic, and it's virtually undetectable by pilots until it's too late.
Some turbulence, including clear air turbulence, is caused in part by wind shear, dramatic changes to wind speeds or directions over short distances and altitudes.
And an increase in wind shear can lead to more severe turbulence, especially on flight paths intersecting with the jet stream in the North Atlantic.
The jet stream is a band of wind in the upper atmosphere that flows from west to east and is often at the boundary between hot and cold regions.
Turbulence is also increasing over the southern hemisphere, but aircraft typically don't fly over the South Pole to cross from one continent to another.
Scientists think climate change may be to blame for the uptick in all of this turbulence.
As the planet warms, some regions are heating up faster than others, especially the Arctic.
This results in a smaller temperature difference between the warm and cold air regions, forming the jet stream, destabilizing it, and leading to more turbulence.
But just because there's more turbulence doesn't mean you'll encounter it more often when you fly.
Weather experts are getting better at predicting where severe turbulence will happen, and pilots have access to more detailed forecast before takeoff.
Still, experts suggest that the best way to stay safe is to always be ready.
Most importantly, stay buckled unless you're actively moving about the cabin.
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