By 2050, extreme heat could ground 23 times more airline passengers than today

Extreme heat already disrupts global air travel, grounding about 4,000 to 8,000 passengers per year today. If airlines and airplanes don’t adapt to the changing climate, up to 185,000 passengers could be grounded per year by 2050.

By 2050, up to 185,000 airline passengers per year may be grounded by extreme heat (48 degrees C), approximately 23 times more than today.

To read the article, see “Will infrastructure bend or break under climate stress?,” August 19, 2020.