Six motorcyclists rode into Death Valley National Park on July 6.
Only five came out alive.
When theres a medical emergency like this, helicopters are typically dispatched to get people to a hospital.
© Robert Smith/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
However, the extreme heat made it impossible for the helicopters to fly.
But its not just a mechanical issue as air pressure is also a factor.
Air expands when its hot and contracts when its cold.
As it gets hotter outside, air pressure plummets.
That makes it dangerous, and sometimes impossible, to fly.
The heat also makes commercial air travel more dangerous.
Increased temperatures create more turbulence, which can lead to injury or death.
This is all getting worsethanks to climate change.
A2023 studyin Advances in Atmospheric Sciences studied historical data about clean-air-turbulence (CAT) from 1979 to 2020.
CAT is a kind of turbulence that doesnt have a clear visual indicator like clouds or a storm.
These findings suggest that climate model simulations may underestimate future CAT increases, it read.
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