Well, file this under unexpected consequences of a global pandemic: Weather forecasts may suffer from reduced accuracy, because less data is being collected due to the sharp drop in airplane flights.

For years, thousands of airliners and cargo planes have been involved in a side gig that few passengers or package shippers have been privy to: gathering and transmitting weather data that’s then used for improving weather forecasts issued worldwide.

It makes sense that planes are used to gather weather data, but I certainly wasn’t aware of it previously.