Earlier this summer, dozens of flights were grounded at Phoenix Sky Harbor airport. The skies were perfectly clear but it was so hot. Planes literally could not take off in the 118-degree heat. Researchers from Columbia University say the scenario could become more common all over the world.
«At the hottest hours of the day, a fully loaded airplane in the future 10 to 25 percent of the time won’t be able to take off at that full weight,» said Radley Horton, a climatologist at Columbia’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.
He worked on a study on the topic that was published in the journal Climate Change. The study predicts that rising temperatures and more frequent heat waves will mean more airplanes are forced to reduce weight, likely by removing passengers, to be able to take off…
