A Number of Affected as Rough Air Hits A Delta Airlines Flight Landing at Sydney, Australia

Several people were hurt after a Delta aircraft originating in Los Angeles to Sydney, Australia was hit by rough air this past Friday.

Flight DL41 "experienced a brief period of turbulence" as it landed at the Sydney airport, an airline spokesperson told. Four flight attendants required medical attention.

The New South Wales Ambulance Service reported they evaluated five patients, and transported three to hospital with minor injuries that such as spinal discomfort and headaches. Those affected spanned from their 30s to 70s.

This marks the latest incident of planes encountering severe turbulence, with experts indicating that global warming is a significant contributor.

On board were 245 passengers and 15 crew members on the wide-body jet, the Delta spokesperson noted, stating that the plane arrived "safely" at Sydney Airport at 6:48 a.m. local time on the day in question.

Emergency responders indicated they received a call just only 180 seconds prior to the plane landed, and response teams were ready and waiting at the airport.

Why in-flight bumpiness is getting increasingly prevalent - and potentially more dangerous.

During the past year, twenty-five passengers and crew were injured when a Delta Airlines flight, travelling from Salt Lake City, Utah to Amsterdam, experienced "considerable" atmospheric disturbance just 120 minutes into the transoceanic journey, and had to make an emergency landing.

Earlier this year, travelers and staff on a certain international flight went through a terrifying brief five-second of severe turbulence. A traveler lost their life and numerous people sustained injuries, as those without seatbelts lifted out of their seats and were slammed back.

In-flight turbulence is not uncommon on aircraft journeys, and while occurrences of rough conditions appear to be increasing, they are remained quite uncommon.

Research indicates that there are approximately thousands of instances of severe-or-greater turbulence each year, out of a sum of over 35 million flights that are conducted worldwide.

Intense turbulence is defined as when the vertical motions of a plane passing through unstable air exert in excess of a significant G-force on your body - enough to throw you from your seat if you weren't wearing a restraint.

As a changing climate modifies the conditions in the sky, specialists caution that air travel could become less smooth: warming trends and changing jet streams in the higher altitudes are likely to heighten the regularity and severity of dangerous in-flight bumps.