NEW YORK: Rising temperatures due to global warming will make it harder for aircraft around the world to take off in coming decades, according to a study.
During the hottest parts of the day, 10 to 30 per cent of fully loaded planes may have to remove some fuel, cargo or passengers, or else wait for cooler hours to fly, researchers said.
“Our results suggest that weight restriction may impose a non-trivial cost on airline and impact aviation operations around the world,” said Ethan Coffel from Columbia University in the US.
As air warms, it spreads out, and its density declines. In thinner air, wings generate less lift as a plane races along a runway, researchers said.
Thus, depending on aircraft model, runway length and other factors, at some point a packed plane may be unable to take off safely if the temperature gets too high. Weight must be dumped, or else the flight delayed or cancelled, they said.
Average global temperatures have gone up nearly one degree Celsius since about 1980, and this may already be having an effect.
Worldwide, average temperatures are expected to go up as much as another three degrees Celsius by 2100, they said.
However, heat waves will probably become more prevalent, with annual maximum daily temperatures at airports worldwide projected to go up four to eight degrees Celsius by 2080, according
