Weather

Understanding the weather for paraglider pilots and free flight pilots

La Niña – the cooler sister of El Niño

Climate change and La Niña

Explore how La Niña impacts global climate and weather patterns, even in the face of rising temperatures.
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Flying with overdevelopment

Blowing Up

Flying with overdevelopment in the sky is potentially dangerous, but it’s also now a fact of life, argues Felix Wölk. We need to learn to recognise it, understand it, and know how to fly in increasingly moisture-laden skies
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A cu-nim spreading horizontally when it hits the tropopause, as seen from orbit

Weather: The science behind embedded cu-nims

Embedded cumulonimbus clouds are storm clouds implanted within a stratus layer making them hard to spot, what should we look for?
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Ben Lewis had been in Bir for three weeks before his incident, which saw him reach more than 7,000m in a cu-nim. Photo: Ben Lewis

“The vario was just screaming”

Canadian pilot Dr Ben Lewis was swept to 7,374m in a storm cloud in Bir in India in October 2024 and lived. He tells his story
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Wave flying with Gordon Boettger. Photo: Gordon Boettger

The Long Game: Chasing the monster

Gordon Boettger is one of the only pilots on Earth using night vision goggles to fly wave – I went with him
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Ben Lewis's tracklog from paragliding in a storm cloud in Bir, India.

‘It was just so strong – there was nothing I could do’

Canadian paraglider pilot Dr Ben Lewis was swept to 7,374m in a storm in the Indian Himalaya. Remarkably, he lived to tell the tale
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Masterclass: Message of the clouds

Masterclass: Understanding the Sky – The message of the clouds

Learn how clouds are formed, how condensation occurs, how to calculate cloud base and what affects a cloud's lifespan
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A storm in the mountains behind Bir, India. Photo: Jerome Maupoint

Pilot swept to 7,300m in Himalayan storm – and survives

A Canadian pilot has shared the terrifying story of being swept up to more than 7,000m in a storm cloud while paragliding in the Himalaya
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Weather: Understanding wind gusts

Why do gusts happen, and how can you predict them? Honza delves into the subject to find the answers that will keep you safe
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Hurricane Milton and sea temperatures. Image: NASA

Hurricanes: What is rapid intensification?

What exactly is rapid intensification in hurricanes, and what does global climate change have to do with it?
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