Posted on 07/28/2023 2:27:58 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Travelers have had to suffer through a record number of flight delays and cancellations this summer. Although ongoing crew shortages partly explain such disruptions, there is another factor that will be harder to remedy: climate change.
Indeed, severe weather events linked to the rising mercury are proving to be a challenge for airlines across the globe.
"There are a lot of ways climate change can affect air travel. Thunderstorms are an obvious one," Wired magazine reporter Amanda Hoover told CBS News. "When there is more heat in the air, there is more moisture, more thunderstorms."
"Really high heat can cause delays because a plane in high temperatures needs more time and more distance to take off to fight gravity," Hoover said.
Hotter air trapped close to the earth's surface can cause "invisible turbulence." Unlike with storms, such turbulence can occur even when skies are clear. Even changing wind patterns linked to climate change can be disruptive to flights.
The bottom line: Passengers should prepare for more turbulence in the air. Airlines and aircraft manufacturers will also have to adapt.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I went to Lake Tahoe last week. I was supposed to fly out Sat AM. I ended up flying out Monday. I lost three days at the resort. Flights were cancelled and delayed. And finally, the flight from Phoenix to Reno was boarded onto a broken plane. We sat on the tarmac, which was easily 120 degrees, for an hour before pulling back in.
On the way home, two of three flights were delayed. And we had another broken plane.
I don’t care for the process of flying these days. I feel bad for those who have to do it every week.
I will drive. I am retired, so the extra time means nothing.
Right; I always appreciated that about him - he was too unsophisticated to lie like a professional politician:
“Police acted stupidly”
“You didn’t build that”
“If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor”
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