Thanks, Climate Change: Heat Waves Will Keep on Grounding Planes
Last month, Phoenix enduring a blistering heat wave, with temperatures so high that airport officials had to cancel dozens of flights. The reason was two-fold. First off, some jet engines risk catching on fire in extreme heat. And when air gets hot, it expands and becomes less dense\u2014so an airplane\u2019s wings can\u2019t generate enough lift to get off the ground. Planes either need to speed up during take-off or use a longer runway.