Heat waves are increasing; making it tough for airplanes to lift off
Heat wave-related mishaps could become increasingly common as a consequence of global warming.
It has been, time and again, been imagined by fiction writers. The rise in temperatures and how seething heat could bring down airplanes have found mention in novels earlier. But now, fiction is slowly making way for reality. Sizzling temperatures have been found as bane to flying aircraft, and in the hottest places around the world catastrophe indeed lurks.
Experts are of the opinion that such heat-related mishaps are becoming increasingly common elsewhere as a consequence of global warming.
It may be recalled that the unprecedented Pacific Northwest heat dome in June had forced Alaska Airlines flights to be delayed or cancelled. The cancellations had to be made when temperatures on the tarmac closed in on 130 degrees in Seattle and Portland. Further, the simmering heat had forced the airline company to bring in limits on how long ramp employees could be outside.
Heat wave conditions make flights feel heavy for take off
Besides, in 2018 during the summer, the London City Airport in the United Kingdom had experienced high temperatures of 95.5 degrees. This had brought in a phenomenon where flights felt it too heavy to take off on the short runways. Following this complaint, the airline had to ask some of the passengers to come out of the plane so that it could lift off.
These are not one off cases that could be ignored. It was in year 2017 that Phoenix in the US had experienced a temperature rise to the tune of 120 degrees. This had caused the cancellation of more than 60 flights over the course of three days as the safety calculations weren’t calibrated for temperatures that high.
These events call for some serous introspection into rising mercury across the world. In the US, extreme heat events have been a regular phenomenon. While it has been found that an average of two events of heat rise per year were recorded during the 1960s, when it came to the 2010s, the average was calculated as six.
Further, heat waves of this nature have been also lasting longer. As per recorded information, average heat wave in major US urban areas happen for four days together, which in comparison is a day longer than the 1960s. The Environmental Protection Agency has been quoted by a report saying that the season for heat waves is now 47 days longer than it was 60 years ago.
Intense heat waves predicted in the coming years
It is in this context that the United Nations report on climate change last month that had predicted even more intense heat waves in the coming years needs to be taken much more seriously. With heat wave conditions proving to be bane for aircraft lift offs, airline companies as well as airplane makers and also airports have begun planning for a hotter future.
In June when Portland’s airport recorded an all-time high of 116 degrees, it was gauged as a once in 1,000 years event. The current greenhouse gas emissions levels could make it an every 5- to 10-year event by the end of the current century, it has been forecast. These conditions could have serious impacts on the aviation sector. With heated air making it difficult for airplanes to take off and fly, the situation that awaits the world seems to be tense.
