Global Warming and Air France Flight 447?

Blog posted by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Mark Paquette

Hello again. As I usually do, I search the web for an article that sticks out to me, and this subject has been in the news quite a bit recently, so I figured I would pass it on to you.

This article asks the question "Does global warming pose a threat to the airline industry?" At first glance, I said, oh my, another loose cannon of an idea. How in the world are these two subjects even remotely related? After reading the article, maybe these two ideas are related a little more closely than I had first thought.

What if global ocean temperatures did rise? A big if, I know that. Would this lead to stronger updrafts from more frequent and stronger thunderstorms? Should pilots just try to avoid thunderstorms all together when they fly? This may not always be possible and almost always will be inconvenient to the pilots and everyone on board as this will often cause delays. This question then needs to be asked, are delays worth it when you are talking about the risk of human lives? I think everyone knows the answer to that question.

However, this article and any theories about global warming causing catastrophic events like this need to be taken with a grain of salt. As is so often pointed out to me and heard in the courthouse of public opinion, who even knows if global warming caused by man is occurring? Until we prove that it is or it is not happening, maybe we should use our time on more important subjects rather than trying to guess if helped cause a devastating plane crash.