Africa: Climate Change May Ground a Third of Aircraft in Coming Decades
New York — Airlines may be forced to cut passengers, cargo or fuel in order to take off safely as warming air lessens planes' ability to generate lift.
More frequent heat waves and rising temperatures due to global warming may ground up to a third of airplanes worldwide during hot days in decades to come with some airports in New York and Dubai likely to be hard hit, a study showed on Thursday.
Airlines may increasingly be forced to cut their loads of passengers, cargo or fuel in order to take off safely because warming air lessens the ability of airplane wings to generate lift, according to U.S. researchers.
Worldwide, average temperatures are expected to climb some 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit (3 Celsius) by 2100, researchers said.
But it is more prevalent heat waves that pose a larger threat to the airline industry, they said in a study published in the journal Climate Change.
Kamel Lebtahi