--- title: Climate Change Could Make Turbulence on Flights Worse description: Climate change could cause much greater rates of severe turbulence on flights, researchers found. canonical: https://time.com/4969254/climate-change-turbulence/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-10-04T17:33:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T17:43:50.646Z article:section: Science og:title: The Surprising Reason Why Airplane Turbulence Could Get a Lot Worse og:description: Buckle up og:url: https://time.com/4969254/climate-change-turbulence/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17c75a561cdef63b/6988e085e76ad26ece62f6b0/climate-change-air-turbulence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2121 og:image:height: 1193 og:image:alt: Businessman fastening his seatbelt for safety og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Surprising Reason Why Airplane Turbulence Could Get a Lot Worse twitter:description: Buckle up twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt17c75a561cdef63b/6988e085e76ad26ece62f6b0/climate-change-air-turbulence.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The Surprising Reason Why Airplane Turbulence Could Get a Lot Worse > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Oct 4, 2017 5:33 PM UTC  Close-up of businessman fastening security belt in airplane Close-up of businessman fastening security belt in airplane shironosov—Getty Images/iStockphoto by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Oct 4, 2017 5:33 PM UTC Climate-related [travel issues](http://time.com/4952119/puerto-rico-hurricane-maria-flights-airlines/) aren’t just limited to natural disasters — in the coming decades, [climate change](http://time.com/4803767/betsy-devos-climate-change-paris-agreement-accord-president-donald-trump/) could cause much greater rates of severe turbulence on flights, researchers found. According to a new study published Tuesday in the journal [_Geophysical Research Letters_](http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2017GL074618/full), global warming could increase severe turbulence during flights because of greater rates of wind instabilities at high altitudes. This would make rough pockets much more commonplace, [CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/04/climate-change-will-increase-the-risk-of-severe-turbulence-on-planes-research-says.html) reports. The result would be higher rates of severe turbulence around the world by 2050 to 2080\. At an altitude of 39,000 feet, severe turbulence would increase by 181% over the North Atlantic, 161% over Europe, 113% over North America, 92% over the North Pacific, 64% percent over Asia, 62% over South America, 53% over Australia and 51% over Africa, the researchers say. “While turbulence does not usually pose a major danger to flights, it is responsible for hundreds of passenger injuries every year,” said Luke Storer, a PhD researcher who worked on the study. “It is also by far the most common cause of serious injuries to flight attendants. 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