Severe Turbulence Incidents Highlight Growing Concerns

Context:

Recent incidents of severe turbulence affecting a Singapore Airlines flight over Myanmar and a Qatar Airways flight over Turkey underscore the increasing impact of rapid air traffic growth and climate change. While turbulence is a common occurrence on flights worldwide, episodes resulting in serious injuries are rare, pointing to emerging challenges in aviation safety due to these factors.

Relevance:

GS I: Geography

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Understanding Flight-Turbulence: Causes and Types
2. Impact of Climate Change on Flight-Turbulence

Understanding Flight-Turbulence: Causes and Types

Definition of Flight-Turbulence:

• Turbulence refers to the irregular motion of air caused by eddies and vertical currents.
• It can range from minor bumps to severe conditions that may throw an airplane out of control or cause structural damage.
• Turbulence is often associated with weather fronts, wind shear, thunderstorms, and other atmospheric phenomena.

Effects of Flight-Turbulence:

• Turbulence can affect the smoothness of a flight, causing varying levels of disruption to the aircraft’s altitude and attitude.

Types of Flight-Turbulence:

• Light Turbulence: Causes slight, momentary changes in altitude, resulting in minor bumpiness.
• Moderate Turbulence: Leads to more noticeable changes in altitude and attitude, but the aircraft remains well-controlled.
• Severe Turbulence: Involves significant and sudden changes in altitude and attitude, potentially causing the aircraft to momentarily go out of control.
• Extreme Turbulence: The aircraft is violently tossed and becomes practically uncontrollable.

Causes of Flight-Turbulence:

• Mechanical Turbulence: Results from friction between the air and the ground, including irregular terrain and man-made obstacles, leading to the formation of eddies.
• Convective or Thermal Turbulence: Occurs when hot air from certain ground surfaces rises rapidly while cooler air descends, creating convective air currents.
• Frontal Turbulence: Caused by the friction between two opposing air masses and the lifting of warm air by a sloping frontal surface, commonly near thunderstorms.
• Wind Shear: Involves changes in wind direction or speed over a specific horizontal or vertical distance, often near jet streams or in temperature inversion areas.
  • Clear Air Turbulence (CAT): A type of wind shear turbulence that can be sudden, severe, and difficult to forecast or see.

Impact of Climate Change on Flight-Turbulence:

Increasing Frequency and Severity:

• Studies suggest that climate change may increase the frequency and severity of turbulence.
  • Jet Streams: Climate change strengthens jet streams, which contribute to turbulence.
  • Clear Air Turbulence (CAT): There has been a significant increase in CAT between 1979 and 2020, especially at mid and aircraft cruising altitudes.
  • North Atlantic: Severe CAT durations over the North Atlantic have increased by more than 55% during this period.

Broader Impact:

• The frequency of severe turbulence is expected to rise more than that of light or moderate turbulence.
• Other types of turbulence, such as mountain wave turbulence and near-cloud turbulence, will also intensify due to climate change.

-Source: Indian Express