A heat wave slammed the southwestern US in June, with temperatures climbing well into the triple digits in states like Arizona and Nevada seeing. The heat was so severe, in fact, thatmultiple flights werecancelled in Las Vegas and Phoenix.High temperatures often cause flight issues because, as commercial airline pilot Patrick Smith explained,hotter air is less dense than cooler air. That meansplanes' wings produce less lift when it's hot out, and jet enginesdont perform as well. Together, these issues mean planes are less aerodynamic, can't get as high, and must take off and landathigher speeds, which in turn requiresmore runway space.Someplanes simply arent allowed to fly if temperatures pass a certain threshold typically somewhere around120 degrees. As temperatures continue to risearound the globe due to climate change, this could pose a major problem for air travel. According to a new study from the Earth Institute at Columbia University, maximum temperatures at airports are expected to riseby 7.2 to 14.4 degrees Farenheit (4 to 8 degrees Celsius) by 2080. That's because the Earth's temperature is projected to increase by 3 degrees Celsius unless greenhouse gas emissions are radically reduced in thecoming years, and tarmac absorbs heat, making temperatures at airports significantly higher.The new research, published Thursday in the journal "Climatic Change,"predicts that 10 to 30% of fully loaded planes may have to remove somefuel, cargo, or passengers in order to deal with these increasing heat levels. The authors calculated thatairplanes mighthave to reduce 4% of their fuel capacities and payload weights in order to take off on hot days. If adjustments aren't made,more and more flights couldbe at risk of gettingcanceled during the hottest parts of the day. "This points to the unexplored risks of changing climate on aviation,"coauthor Radley Horton, a climatologist at Columbia's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, saidin a press release.Until now, moststudies on the relationship between climate change and aviation looked into the impact air travel has on greenhouse gasemissions. The new research, however, does the reverseand suggests a worrisome cycle."As the world gets more connected and aviation grows, there may be substantial potential for cascading effects, economic and otherwise," Horton said.Thestudy also warns thatthe aviation industry could face severe financial setbacks from rising temperatures. Serious heat can damage a plane's internal components, and more cancelled flights, of course, create a host ofdifficulties for airlines and passengers. Plus, smallor old airports with shorter runways wouldalso suffer disproportionately, since planes need more space when temperatures climb. For example, the authors projected that on the hottest days,aBoeing 737 scheduled to take off fromone of LaGuardia airport's short runways would have to unload weight as much ashalf the time."Our results suggest that weight restriction may impose a non-trivial cost on airline and impact aviation operations around the world," lead author Ethan Coffel, a Columbia PhD. student, said in a press release.According to Reuters, heat waves can also be dangerous for ground crews exposed on the tarmac, sincetemperatures there can reach up to 150 degrees Farenheit whenthe air temperature climbsabove 120 degrees.Alex Davies contributed to an earlier version of this article.SEE ALSO:New map projects where climate change will kill the most peopleJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Here's why commercial airplanes fly at 35,000 feet
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