“Climate Disruption Intensifying Turbulence?”

Over the last week, there have been two prominent reports of intense atmospheric disruption internationally. The previous week saw a tragic incident involving a Singapore Airlines flight travelling from London to Singapore; a sudden bout of unexpected turbulence led to over 100 individuals being hurt and one fatality. This necessitated an unplanned emergency stop in Bangkok. Subsequently, there was turbulence during a journey from Doha in Qatar to Ireland on Sunday, resulting in injuries to six crew members and six passengers. Aeroplanes have always faced the threat of turbulence, but the intensity of the sudden clear-air turbulence experienced on the Singapore Airlines flight was far from typical. This poses the question: is such harsh, clear-air turbulence occurring with increasing frequency? Furthermore, could climate change and heated air flows be exacerbating turbulence? In today’s “In the News” segment, we explore whether climate disturbances are heightening the extremity of turbulence. Sorcha Pollak is our host, with production by John Casey.

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