Climate Change is Making it Harder for Planes to Get in the Air, New Study Says

- Warmer temperatures and changing wind patterns affect how planes take off
- The study looked at 60 years of weather and transportation data
- Airlines and airports may have to make adjustments, researcher says

Jan Wesner Childs | The Weather Channel | 14 February 2020

Climate change is making it harder for planes to get off the ground, a new study says.

"Warm air and slow winds make it harder for planes to get off the ground, and climate change appears to be making both of these factors more common," Paul Williams, an atmospheric scientist at the University of Reading in England and co-author of the study, said in a news release.

Williams and his fellow researchers studied 60 years of weather and aircraft data from Greek airports to see how warmer air temperatures and changing winds have impacted the ability of aircraft to take off from the ground.

Air travel is a hot topic in climate change research. Scientists and environmentalists have long called on airliners to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions, and some have boycotted air travel altogether. Studies have also shown that contrails contribute to global warming. At the same time, the International Air Transport Association predicts that the number of people traveling by air will double by 2037.

Previous research by Williams and others has shown that climate change will cause flights to encounter more severe in-air turbulence in the future.

The new study, published Thursday in the journal Climatic Change, analyzed take-off conditions for the Airbus A320 and the smaller de Havilland DHC8-400, using data including temperature, headwind, surface conditions and runway slope.

The results showed that the maximum take-off weight for both aircraft had decreased each year and that they were climbing less quickly into the air.

Williams said the data means airlines and airports, especially those with shorter runways, may have to make accommodations if climate trends continue on their current path.

"Reducing passenger numbers clearly results in a financial hit to airlines. Reducing the amount of fuel being carried is an alternative way of shedding weight, but limits the distance that can be travelled. Another possibility is extending runways to allow higher take-off speeds to be reached, but this would mean covering these holiday paradises in even more tarmac," Williams said.

"None of these are attractive solutions, but we may have to resort to them in future unless climate change is curbed."