Topic: Climate Turbulence

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg appeared on CBS to link recent severe airline turbulence to climate change, claiming it has increased by 15% to 55%. He cited heat waves in the Pacific Northwest as a threat to transit infrastructure and urged passengers to keep seatbelts fastened. Critics argue that extreme turbulence remains rare and that Buttigieg is using weather events to push broader environmental policies.

A Singapore Airlines flight from London experienced severe turbulence over the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ), resulting in one death from a heart attack and numerous injuries. While media outlets and researchers from Reading University attribute increasing turbulence to climate change, critics argue the incident was caused by standard storm activity near the equator. The flight made an emergency landing in Bangkok after the Boeing 777 dropped several thousand feet.

Effective December 2023, United Airlines requires flight attendants to be buckled in by 10,000 feet due to increased turbulence risks during descent. This policy change may end beverage service earlier on short-haul flights. The airline attributes the shift to "approach maneuvers" designed to save fuel, though some link the narrative to climate change mitigation efforts.

Severe turbulence on a Delta Air Lines flight from Milan to Atlanta resulted in 11 hospitalizations, leading to a discussion on new aviation descent profiles. The hosts argue that "climate change regulated" descents force planes to glide through turbulent areas to save fuel rather than navigating around them. Media reports are critiqued for attributing a 55% increase in North Atlantic clear air turbulence to global warming.

Nico Seim is announced as the winner of the episode's art competition for a piece depicting a "No Agenda Climate Turbulence Warning" sign styled after an illuminated 1980s aircraft seatbelt sign. The hosts also praise a piece by Sir Paul but ultimately chose Seim's for its clever "gag" and nostalgic aesthetic.

An air traffic controller provides "boots on the ground" insight, explaining that the FAA has tightened aircraft spacing from five miles to three and a half miles. This change causes modern planes to encounter more "wake turbulence" from preceding engines, which the media then incorrectly attributes to climate change. The hosts also mock German climate activists who glued their hands to an airport runway.

Mainstream media outlets reported that Earth recently experienced its hottest days on record based on data from the University of Maine's Climate Reanalyzer. Additionally, several reports claimed that climate change is causing increased flight turbulence. The hosts argue that perceived increases in turbulence are actually due to new AI-driven "continuous descent" landing patterns designed to save fuel, which bypass smoother altitude levels.

A convicted felon in Santa Clara County was accidentally released from jail and spent a week free before being recaptured after posting selfies on Instagram. In another news item, 27 passengers were injured during severe turbulence on an Aeroflot flight to Thailand, which the media attributed to climate change.

Mainstream media outlets including CBS and CNN report on a study suggesting that climate change is causing more frequent and severe flight turbulence. The hosts dismiss these claims as predictive "bull crap" based on computer models rather than actual measurements, noting that pilots have not reported a significant increase in severe incidents.