What causes turbulence? Here’s how climate change is making it worse.
Climate change is making turbulence more frequent and intense. Here’s how it could affect travelers during flights.
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An Italy-bound Ryanair flight was forced to make an emergency landing in west Germany after severe weather conditions caused violent turbulence, injuring eight people on board, including a toddler.
The flight traveling from Berlin to Milan with 179 passengers and six crew members encountered intense turbulence around 8:25 p.m. local time on Wednesday, June 4, prompting the pilot to make an unscheduled landing at Memmingen Airport in Bavaria, German police said.
Eight people between the ages of two and 59 were injured by the turbulence, police said, adding a “59-year-old woman complained of back pain,” while another “woman suffered a head laceration (and) her 2-year-old toddler suffered bruises.”
Three people were transported to a hospital in Memmingen for treatment, while the rest of the injured people were released after receiving outpatient treatment on site. Police said all passengers were checked for injuries by emergency officials as a precaution.
“The captain (had) called ahead for medical assistance and the aircraft landed normally,” Ryanair said in a statement.
Alternate transportation organized for stranded passengers
An additional flight was not approved by the Southern Bavaria Aviation Authority and passengers were later transported to Milan in a bus organized by the airline, police said. Milan is about 235 miles south of Memmingen, which is about 420 miles south of Berlin.
Ryanair said a replacement flight was also organized for stranded passengers Thursday morning, June 5.
“We sincerely apologize to passengers affected by this diversion,” the airline said.
Climate is making turbulence worse
While deaths from turbulence are extremely rare, the phenomenon is getting worse, with the trend likely to continue because of climate change. In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration reported 163 passengers and crew have been seriously injured by turbulence between 2009 and 2022.
According to Paul Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading, there’s no clear data on just how climate change is affecting mountain waves or convective turbulence, but clear air turbulence is becoming more frequent and intense.
“It’s going up because of climate change,” Williams told USA TODAY last year. “The atmosphere is getting more turbulent; there will be more severe turbulence in the atmosphere.”
Thomas Guinn, chair of applied aviation sciences at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, agreed.
“Turbulence is going to tend to become more frequent and more intense with climate change,” he said.
Contributing: Zach Wichter, USA TODAY
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.
