Excess heat in Phoenix grounded more than 40 flights in recent days, and scientists say a warming climate could also mean more turbulent rides In recent days, American Airlines has been forced to cancel more than 40 flights in Phoenix. The reason: With daytime highs hovering around 120 degrees, it was simply too hot for some smaller jets to take off. Hotter air is thinner air, which makes it more difficult — and sometimes impossible — for planes to generate enough lift. As the global climate changes, disruptions like these are likely to become more frequent, researchers say, potentially making air travel costlier and less predictable with a greater risk of injury to travelers from increased turbulence. “We tend to ignore the atmosphere and just think that the plane is flying through empty space, but of course, it’s not,” said Paul D. Williams, a professor in the Department of Meteorology at the University of Reading in Britain who studies climate change and its effect on aviation. “Airplanes do not fly through a vacuum. The atmosphere is being modified by climate change.” The problem in Phoenix primarily affected smaller jets operated by American’s regional partner airlines. “When you get in excess of 118 or higher, you’re not able to take off or land,” said Ross Feinstein, a spokesman for American Airlines, referring to the smaller aircraft. Continue reading the main story Bigger jets like Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s have higher operating thresholds (126 and 127 degrees, respectively), he said. All three of those maximum temperation are specific to Phoenix airport; aircraft have different maximum operating temperatures depending on a varity of factors, including airport elevation. But even though bigger planes weren’t affected, he said, American decided to give passengers on any flight to or from Phoenix the option to change their trips. Over all, that means more than 350 flights were potentially affected by the hot weather in Phoenix. Robert Mann, the president of airline industry analysis firm R. W. Mann & Company, said that although airlines were working to become more efficient now, they were not doing much to prepare for the longer-term effects of climate change. “In a world where they’re focused on near-term issues, the glacial rate of environmental change is not within their fleet-planning horizon,” he said. Mr. Feinstein of American Airlines referred questions about the effect of climate change on flying to an industry trade group, Airlines for America. The trade group provided its Earth Day statement describing its members’ efforts to become more environmentally friendly by using more fuel-efficient engines and modifying planes to be more aerodynamic. Aviation is a major producer of carbon dioxide, responsible for about 2 percent of human-made emissions each year. How Higher Temperatures Affect Flying As temperatures increase, air density decreases, which reduces lift and makes it harder for airplanes to take off. To address this, airlines could reduce airplane weight (by loading fewer passengers and less fuel or cargo) or schedule departures for cooler periods of the day. LOWER TEMPERATURES HIGHER TEMPERATURES More lift Less lift DENSER AIR MOLECULES SPARSER AIR MOLECULES Shorter takeoff runs Longer takeoff runs Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | By The New York Times Researchers are just beginning to explore how climate change affects aviation and planes’ ability to fly. Because there is so little data available and so many factors at play — aircraft design, airport size and location, the weight of passengers and cargo, to name just a few — it can be hard to attribute any one service disruption to global warming. Depending on their locations, airports may experience the effects differently. High-altitude airports like Denver have thinner air by nature, so lift is even more affected by higher temperatures. La Guardia Airport in New York could also be affected, even though it is at sea level. La Guardia has a short runway relative to other major commercial airports, and on particularly hot days that can be a problem: Planes might not have enough distance to achieve the speed and lift needed to get airborne. “Typically in the hotter days of the summer, you may have to bump payload, which includes cargo and/or passengers,” said David Wilhelm, a senior dispatch manager at Southwest Airlines. Reducing weight allows a plane to take off with less lift. La Guardia, because of its short runway, already forces many planes to reduce their weight, regardless of the weather. A Boeing 737, for example, has to cut its maximum payload by a thousand pounds for a successful departure. That restriction increases on hotter days, up to 15,000 pounds when the temperature hits 91.4 degrees. Restrictions like these are determined by individual airports and airlines, and not by a standardized industry regulation. American Airlines consults National Weather Service data and plugs it into a formula to calculate air density to determine if conditions at a given airport are suitable for takeoffs and landings. In 2015, Radley Horton, a research scientist at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, published a joint study with a Ph.D. student, Ethan Coffel, on the effect of extreme heat on aviation. The conclusion: “We can say with confidence that there will be more weight-restricted days, and larger weight restrictions,” he said. Already, since the 1980s, airports have seen an increasing number of weight-restricted summer days, their research found. “One thing that’s become abundantly clear,” Dr. Horton added, “is this is an underexplored area.” How Stronger Winds Affect Flying At cruising altitudes, winds are becoming stronger and more turbulent. Since the jet stream generally travels from west to east, this means that flight times could get longer heading westbound and shorter heading eastbound. This would probably increase overall travel time and fuel consumption across the industry. PREVAILING WIND DIRECTION WEST EAST Westbound flights will be slowed. Eastbound flights will be sped up. Variable Polar Jet Stream Flights are also likely to become bumpier, particularly eastbound flights, as stronger winds create more turbulence. Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | By The New York Times The study examined conditions at four airports: La Guardia; Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, which also has relatively shorter runways; Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport; and Denver International Airport. Some airports, like Denver, could counteract rising temperatures by extending their runways. That option is less workable for a location like La Guardia, however, as it is hemmed in by New York City on one side and the East River on the other. As global temperatures continue to rise, some of the heaviest planes on the longest flights may eventually be unable to depart during the hottest part of summer days, Dr. Horton said. Like an ocean liner waiting for the right tide to leave port, airplanes may be grounded until the air is cool and dense enough for takeoff at full capacity.
All i can even do is LOL at the title of this thread, and the article, the diagrams of the plane trying to take off that cant get enough lift cause its too damn hot..... Its just fucking priceless. Something tells me that if temperatures are hotter next year by 1/1000th of a degree that planes arent going to suddenly be crashing all over the airport, but keep installing those air conditioning units if you think this is whats coming FC.
Global warming is a global problem, and I think the whole world will also unite to fight. The forces of nature are hard to resist. Who knows any projects that raise money to combat this problem, such as ocean cleanup search engine. I would be happy to support such a project and talk about it everywhere. I hope people from different continents understand that we can only solve such a problem together; scientific leaders from different countries must join their efforts; there is no other way.