Incidents of turbulence on airline flights have increased by more than 50% within the past 40 years. Multiple studies suggest climate change is to blame for the increase in turbulence, while other researchers say additional factors, such as a rise in overall air traffic, could be at play. “We are seeing some more severe cases, and that really is an outcome of a warming planet,” said Shem Malmquist, an airline captain and instructor at Florida Tech’s College of Aeronautics. Turbulence is an irregular motion of the air resulting from eddies (circular currents or whirls of air) and vertical currents, according to the National Weather Service. The most dangerous type is clear-air turbulence, which often occurs with no visible warning in the sky ahead. There are many causes of turbulence, but it is typically associated with different weather conditions, such as cold or warm fronts, thunderstorms or wind shear, which is the change in wind direction and/or wind speed over a specific horizontal or vertical distance. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/verify/travel-verify/yes-turbulence-is-increasing-on-airline-flights/536-c24015d7-407a-49a6-ac3e-b1120be14029 ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►X: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay