SINGAPORE – Even after 18 years, Singaporean Glenn Koh still grips his seat whenever a flight encounters prolonged turbulence.

The 43-year-old was travelling from London to Zurich with his wife in June 2008 when their plane was hit by severe turbulence.

“The turbulence got worse throughout the flight and it came to the point where we felt the plane dip.

I knew it was serious because we were lifted off our seats and feet for a few seconds,” says Mr Koh, who recently left his job as a director in the hospitality industry.

“There were people screaming and I think that multiplied the fear.

My instant reaction was to grab the seat and my wife’s hand, and then we started getting nervous.” The ordeal lasted around 20 minutes.

Only after landing did he learn that the aircraft had flown into one of the worst hailstorms Switzerland had experienced in recent history.

Mr Koh, who graduated from Singapore Youth Flying Club in his younger days, says even his understanding of aviation could not shield him from the anxiety of the experience.

He believes turbulence has become increasingly common and remains cautious when flying.

Turbulence was the leading cause of accidents in the Asia-Pacific region from 2022 to 2024, according to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Annual Safety Report 2025, which noted that “more adverse weather conditions brought about by climate changes” are expected to sustain the trend.

High-profile turbulence-related incidents such as the Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London to Singapore in May 2024, which left one passenger dead and many more injured, have also heightened public awareness of the risks.

Experts say the issue is not that aviation has suddenly become unsafe, but that climate-related weather volatility is making flight operations more difficult and the passenger experience more unpredictable.

“Climate change has made aviation risk more complex,” says Mr John Tan, lead professional officer teaching in the aviation management degree programme at the Singapore Institute of Technology.

“The concern is not only stronger weather.

It is greater volatility, shorter decision windows and wider disruption across the aviation network.” As global warming worsens, heatwaves can affect aircraft performance and runway operations, while stronger storms may force rerouting and reduce airport capacity.

“The risk now extends beyond the aircraft in flight.

It affects routing, fuel planning, crew rostering, cabin service, passenger connections and disruption recovery,” says Mr Tan.

“Climate change raises the baseline level of uncertainty.

That matters because aviation safety depends on prediction, preparation and timely decision-making.” The issue with turbulence One major concern among researchers is the growing unpredictability of weather systems and “climate system tipping points”.

These critical thresholds, when crossed, can trigger rapid and potentially irreversible shifts in climate patterns, says Professor Dale Barker, director of the Centre for Climate Research Singapore (CCRS).

They include disruptions to ocean currents, accelerated polar ice melt and thawing Arctic permafrost.

Turbulence itself can stem from several weather phenomena.

Clear-air turbulence – one of the most difficult forms to predict – often occurs at high altitudes without visible storm clouds and is linked to sudden wind changes around jet streams.

“These wind changes are invisible and occur on a small scale, making them hard to detect and forecast accurately,” Prof Barker adds.

Another phenomenon called convectively induced turbulence can develop around thunderstorms, including at some distances away from storm clouds.

He says: “Thunderstorms, especially in the tropics, can form quickly, which adds to the difficulty in forecasting this type of turbulence.” A study published by the University of Reading in June 2023 found that the incidence....