Climate change could have a major impact on future air travel. According to a new study published in the American Meteorological Society Journal, researchers suggest warmer global temperatures will make it harder for airplanes to take off. This could either limit how much luggage or how many people can board an airplane in the future.
Temperature and airport elevation play a major role in determining the maximum allowable takeoff weight of an airplane by changing the air density. As temperatures warm, the air becomes less dense, reducing the lift force on the airplanes’ wings. Simply put, this means that an airplane will have to be traveling faster to become airborne on a hot day than on a cold day, assuming all other variables remain the same.
The researchers used a climate model to project future temperatures at four major U.S. airports: Denver International, Phoenix Sky Harbor, New York’s La Guardia, and Dulles Airport, outside of Washington D.C. They compared the findings with temperature thresholds at those airports that lead to weight restrictions for Boeing 737s. The researchers project that the number of days with weight restrictions “between May and September will increase by 50% to 200% at the four major airports by 2050-2070.”
As a result, researchers say airlines will need to reevaluate luggage weight or the number of passengers an airplane can carry. The alternative, off course, is for the industry to design more aerodynamic airplanes, with lighter engines and more thrust.
All of this assumes we are unable to curtail the rising global temperatures, which, as of today, seems likely the case.
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Web Links
Climate change and the impact of extreme temperatures on aviation
Researchers suggest global warming will cause more weight restriction days for airlines
Warming world could make it harder for planes to take off
Photo, posted March 9, 2014, courtesy of Joao Carlos Medau via Flickr.
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Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.