After the Singapore plane tragedy...Does climate change have anything to do with turbulence?

Arabia Weather - A British passenger was killed and more than 70 people were injured last Tuesday, after a Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER plane encountered severe turbulence during its flight from London, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. Details of what happened on board Flight 321SQ are still unclear.

Singapore Airlines stated that the plane took off from London Heathrow Airport and "encountered severe turbulence on its way."

What happened on the Singapore plane?

Answer: In a statement on Facebook, Singapore Airlines reported that the plane was carrying “211 passengers and 18 crew members.” She added: “We offer our sincere apologies for the traumatic experience that our passengers and crew members suffered on board this flight and we provide all necessary assistance at this difficult time.”

Flight tracking data indicated that the plane descended more than 1,800 meters in just five minutes over the Andaman Sea.

Kittipong Kittikashorn, director of Suvarnabhumi Airport, said that the passenger who died had British citizenship and was 73 years old. He explained that the majority of those injured had suffered blows to the head and that seven of them were in critical condition.

According to the airline, the passengers were of different nationalities, including 56 Australians, 47 Britons, and 41 Singaporeans. Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital in Bangkok announced that a total of 71 people were transferred for treatment, six of them seriously injured.

This incident comes at a time when parts of Thailand are experiencing thunderstorms during the country's annual rainy season.

Fortunately, deaths and serious injuries caused by turbulence are very rare and flight crews can often predict bad weather and stormy air in advance, and are trained to deal with these conditions.

Does climate change have anything to do with turbulence?

Answer: A study last year by meteorologists at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom found that skies have become up to 55% more turbulent than they were four decades ago due to climate change.

Warmer air from carbon dioxide emissions alters air currents in the jet stream, exacerbating clean-air turbulence in the North Atlantic and the world. The study showed that at a typical point over the North Atlantic, one of the busiest flight paths in the world, the annual duration increased The total number of severe bumps increased by 55% between 1979 and 2020.

The study also found that other busy flight paths over the United States, Europe, the Middle East and the South Atlantic also saw a significant rise in turbulence.

Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading and one of the study's co-authors, said:

“We must invest in improving turbulence prediction and detection systems to prevent rough air from causing more difficult flights in the coming decades.”

Mark Prosser, a meteorologist at the University of Reading and supervisor of the study, said:

“Airlines will need to start thinking about how to manage the increasing turbulence, as this costs the aviation sector $150 to $500 million annually in the US alone.”

He added: “Every additional minute spent traveling through turbulence increases wear and tear on the aircraft, as well as the risk of injuries to passengers and flight attendants.”

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Sources:

Arabic