WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.880
- [Angely] Flights have
become bumpier over time,

2
00:00:02.880 --> 00:00:06.660
and strangely enough you can
actually blame climate change.

3
00:00:06.660 --> 00:00:09.210
A new study from the University
of Reading in England

4
00:00:09.210 --> 00:00:11.280
has found that severe turbulence

5
00:00:11.280 --> 00:00:14.460
has more than doubled in over 40 years.

6
00:00:14.460 --> 00:00:16.980
Scientists and researchers
at the university

7
00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:18.720
analyzed reported instances

8
00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:21.540
of different levels of
clear air turbulence.

9
00:00:21.540 --> 00:00:24.330
It's the kind of turbulence
that comes with no warning,

10
00:00:24.330 --> 00:00:25.860
so there's no nearby storm

11
00:00:25.860 --> 00:00:27.480
or there's no heavy cloud coverage

12
00:00:27.480 --> 00:00:29.370
that would cause the plane to shake.

13
00:00:29.370 --> 00:00:33.780
In 1979, there were reported
17.7 hours of turbulence

14
00:00:33.780 --> 00:00:35.280
in the North Atlantic,

15
00:00:35.280 --> 00:00:38.430
and this is a pretty high
airplane traffic corridor.

16
00:00:38.430 --> 00:00:43.430
But by 2020, there were
27.4 hours of turbulence.

17
00:00:43.710 --> 00:00:48.090
That's an about 55% increase
in just that time alone.

18
00:00:48.090 --> 00:00:49.860
But other places, including Europe,

19
00:00:49.860 --> 00:00:53.820
have also seen an increase
of turbulence since 1979.

20
00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:56.400
And you might ask yourself,
why is this happening?

21
00:00:56.400 --> 00:00:58.140
And what exactly does a plane shaking

22
00:00:58.140 --> 00:01:00.870
have to do with turbulence
and climate change?

23
00:01:00.870 --> 00:01:04.620
Clear air turbulence is caused
by change in wind shear,

24
00:01:04.620 --> 00:01:06.330
and if you've never heard about it before,

25
00:01:06.330 --> 00:01:08.850
wind shear is used to
describe how the wind changes

26
00:01:08.850 --> 00:01:11.310
in direction and/or speed.

27
00:01:11.310 --> 00:01:13.560
And that means that if
the wind changes direction

28
00:01:13.560 --> 00:01:15.810
at a really high altitude
where planes fly,

29
00:01:15.810 --> 00:01:17.280
you get turbulence.

30
00:01:17.280 --> 00:01:19.350
And wind shear has changed over time

31
00:01:19.350 --> 00:01:20.820
because of the global jet streams,

32
00:01:20.820 --> 00:01:21.750
which have changed

33
00:01:21.750 --> 00:01:24.720
because temperatures
overall have gotten hotter.

34
00:01:24.720 --> 00:01:26.490
So if our emissions keep rising,

35
00:01:26.490 --> 00:01:28.740
the world is going to continue to heat up

36
00:01:28.740 --> 00:01:30.210
and your international travel

37
00:01:30.210 --> 00:01:32.850
is going to become bumpier and bumpier.

38
00:01:32.850 --> 00:01:34.410
Thanks for watching "Extreme Earth."

39
00:01:34.410 --> 00:01:35.243
We're so sorry

40
00:01:35.243 --> 00:01:38.020
that we have to constantly
remind you about all of this.