Which routes have the most turbulence? Here is the ranking
20Let's not kid ourselves: turbulence, especially intense turbulence, scares everyone, including flight enthusiasts. It is not [...]
20Let's not kid ourselves: turbulence, especially intense turbulence, makes everyone scared, including those who love flying. It is never that much of an enjoyable experience, in short. The portal Turbli - developed by Ignacio Gallego-Marcos, a researcher in the field of turbulence - has compiled a ranking for 2024 of the air routes in which the most turbulence is encountered. In this list we find some surprises but also a constant: namely, that mountain ranges are mainly responsible for these annoying air movements.
In this article:
How turbulence is calculated
The Turbli portal looked at about 10 thousand flights and the more than 500 largest airports in the world. Turbulence was analyzed thanks to the UK Met Office and NOAA forecast data. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration): in a nutshell, As noted in the portal, a snapshot of the forecast is saved every 6 hours covering the entire planet (on as many as 18 pressure levels); after which, at the end of each month, monthly and annual statistics are derived from all these forecasts.
In the forecasts, first, and in the rankings, later, turbulence is given in EDR, Eddy Dissipation Rate, unit of vortex dissipation rate: as Turbli explains, it represents the rate at which turbulent structures break up and dissipate their energy into heat. There are different levels of EDR: 0 to 20 is considered to be slight, 20 to 40 is moderate, 40 to 60 is strong, 60 to 80 is grave, and 80 to 100 is considered extreme.
The most turbulent routes of 2024
We come to the ranking. We say it now: the podium is all South American. The most turbulent route in 2024 was the Mendoza (MDZ)-Santiago (SCL), with an EDR of 24.684. In second place was the Cordoba (COR)-Santiago (EDR of 20.214), followed by the Mendoza-Salta (19.825).
Turbli, in addition to the overall ranking, also compiled a list of the most turbulent routes for each continent. Among the European routes, the most turbulent one was the Nice-Geneva (with an average turbulence of 16.065 EDR), followed by Nice-Zurich (15.493 EDR) and Milan (MXP)-Zurich, which ranks third with an average turbulence of 15.41. In the European ranking we also find another Italian city, namely Venice, in 8th place on the route from Geneva (14.775 EDR) and in 10th position on the route to Zurich (with an average turbulence of 14.669).
The impact of climate change
An interesting (and at the same time worrying) aspect that emerged from the research is the impact of climate change on the frequency and intensity of turbulence. According to experts, the Clear Air Turbulence (CAT)-that is, turbulence in clear air that occurs in the absence of visible clouds-are increasingly common. This type of turbulence, evidently, is very difficult to predict, partly because it can often and frequently occur in the absence of thunderstorms.
Scholars explain that climate change affects the warming of both the earth's surface and the oceans: in fact, the thermal distribution of the atmosphere is altered and, as a result, conditions favorable to the 'increase in the variations wind verticals, "a crucial factor," experts say, "in the development of turbulence.
