Can climate geoengineering mitigate the rising threat of aviation turbulence?

[Geoengineering News]

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae7b5c

Authors: Han-Chang Ko, Hye-Yeong Chun and Hyun-Kyu Lee

Accepted Manuscript online 10 June 2026

Abstract

Global warming is reshaping atmospheric circulation and intensifying aviation turbulence, posing growing risks to passenger safety and airline operations. Stratospheric aerosol injection has been proposed as a geoengineering strategy to offset warming by reducing incoming sunlight, yet its implications for turbulence remain unclear. Here we show, using simulations from three climate models and multiple scenarios, that geoengineering not only offsets the expected rise in turbulence but reduces it below present-day levels. These results reveal that turbulence hotspots projected to intensify under continued warming could instead diminish under geoengineering. The magnitude of this reduction varies substantially across models and scenarios, underscoring the importance of inter-model differences when interpreting the relative effects of different geoengineering strategies. The findings highlight aviation as an overlooked domain in which climate interventions may yield benefits, while also underscoring the need to balance such advantages against the broader risks and uncertainties that accompany large-scale atmospheric modification.

Source: IOP Science