Explained: Jet Stream and its impact on the climate 

There are many geography terms that we hear from time to time but don’t exactly know what they mean and how they affect our geographical elements. One such term is jet stream. It is a vital geographical factor that contributes to global weather patterns and even help meteorologists forecast weather based on its position. Here’s everything you need to know about its origin, definition and influence on the climate. 

What is a jet stream? 
In simple terms, a jet stream is a high-speed, high-altitude air current that circles the Earth in a westerly direction. It is generally many thousand miles long and wide, yet relatively thin. Jet stream is found in tropopause, the boundary between troposphere and stratosphere.  

Origin of jet stream 
The origin of jet stream can be traced back to the 1920s. The chance discovery of this thin air current took place when Japanese meteorologist Wasaburo Ooishi while he was tracking upper-level winds using weather balloons as they ascended to the earth’s atmosphere near the famous Mount Fuji. But until 1934, this knowledge was limited to Japan only until an American pilot named Wiley Post attempted to fly solo around the globe. To make this possible, he created an innovative pressurised suit that would help him fly at high altitudes during his trial runs. During those attempts, he discovered that the ground and airspeed measurements were different, which indicated that he was flying in an air current. However, it took another five years to officially coin the term ‘jet stream’ which was done by for a German meteorologist, H. Seilkopf,  in 1939. Thereafter, jet stream emerged as a popular term during the World War II with pilots observing wind variations while flying from Europe to North America and back.   

Impact of jet stream 
Jet streams are of great importance to the aviation industry as flying in or out of them can reduce both flight time and fuel consumption. For instance, in 1952, a commercial flight from Japan to Hawaii took 11.5 hours instead of the usual 18 hours as the flight moved within the jet stream at 25000 feet. This also led too lesser fuel consumption. Since this discovery, the airline industry has been extensively taking help of jet streams to run its long duration flights.  

Jet streams also help in impacting weather patterns worldwide. Considering it is a strong current of rapidly moving air, it is often able to push these weather patterns. That is why most weather systems do not hover over certain areas, but rather move ahead. In fact, it is the position and strength of jet streams that help weathermen predict future weather conditions.  

Jet stream also has the ability to affect climactic factors such as precipitation. In fact, it was because of the polar jet stream that La Nina was moved towards India this year, causing severe winter. As a matter of fact, jet stream is also influential in causing floods and droughts. So, it is important for meteorologists to constantly track its movement for monitoring the global climate.