study
As if air travel wasn't already stressful enough.
Just
last month, American Airlines was forced to cancel dozens of flights
from Phoenix when temperatures of nearly 120 degrees made it too hot for
smaller jets to take off.
Now, a study finds
such heat-related flight disruptions will become more common in the next
few decades as temperatures rise because of global warming. Blistering
heat waves like the one that scorched the Southwest in June will make it
harder for aircraft around the world to take off, according to the
report published Thursday.
Extreme heat affects a
plane's ability to take off. Hot air is less dense than cold air, and
the hotter the temperature, the more speed a plane needs to lift off. A
runway might not be long enough to allow a plane to achieve the
necessary extra speed for a safe takeoff. That means weight must be
dumped, or the flight is delayed or canceled.
By
the end of this century, heat waves are forecast to become more
commonplace, with high temperatures at airports around the
globe predicted to soar anywhere from 7.2 to 14.4 degrees above current
levels by 2080, according to the study. These intense heat waves would
cause the most problems.
“This points to the unexplored risks of changing climate on aviation,” said study co-author Radley Horton, a climatologist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
The
issue adds to a growing list of aviation-related problems because
of global warming, including increased turbulence, stronger
headwinds and swamped airport runways due to rising sea levels, he said.
Tom
Nolan, executive director of the Palm Springs International Airport,
said the airport operates routinely in high heat. Temperatures in Palm
Springs have reached 122 degrees four times this summer, and only a
handful of flights have been delayed because of heat.
Nolan said he expects aviation technology to advance quickly in the coming decades, outpacing rises in ground temperatures.
“It’s
quite obvious, at least from my perspective, that the changes in engine
technology – meaning more efficiency, more horsepower, less fuel
consumption; the design of the fuselage and the wings, creating more
efficiency with less energy; the use of composites in aircraft making
them lighter… That in itself has advanced so quickly that even two
decades from now you’ll see dramatic advancements in how aircraft
works,” Nolan said. “Technology has got the upper hand and will stay
well ahead of that and counter-balance” the effects of global warming.
On
average, 10%–30% of flights departing at the hottest time of day
would require some form of weight restriction toward the end of the
century, the study determined. It also found that if greenhouse gas
emissions continue unabated, aircraft fuel capacities and payload
weights will need to be reduced on the hottest days for some planes.
"Adaptation may be required in aircraft design, airline schedules and/or runway
lengths," the authors wrote.
lengths," the authors wrote.
However, the authors
noted that technological change, including improvements in engine
performance and air frame efficiency could alleviate the effects of
rising temperatures to a degree.
The study, the first such worldwide analysis, appeared in the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change.
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