Cosmic radiation on flights from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to New York (JFK)

Reverse: New York → Dallas-Fort Worth

A flight from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to John F. Kennedy International Airport at 35,000 ft, about 2 h 44 min in the air, receives about 0.00941 mSv (9.41 µSv) of cosmic radiation: about a tenth of a chest X-ray. That is the FAA's CARI-7 model run for this route with the solar conditions of August 2026.

Updated · solar conditions of August 2026

Dose
9.41 µSv0.00941 mSv
Time in the air
2 h 44 minestimated
Dose rate
3.4 µSv/haverage, 35,000 ft
Chest X‑rays
0.094at 0.1 mSv each

Key facts: DFW → JFK

Dose, standard flight0.00941 mSv (9.41 µSv)
Time in the air2 h 44 min, estimated from distance and prevailing winds
Cruise altitude35,000 ft
Average dose rate3.4 µSv/h
Great-circle distance2,235 km (1,389 mi)
Furthest from the equator40.6°N
Solar conditionsAugust 2026

The standard flight is CARI-7, the FAA Civil Aerospace Medical Institute's model, run on the dev machine for this route: 35,000 ft, 2 h 44 min in the air (climb 25 min, cruise 122 min, descent 17 min), effective dose per ICRP Publication 103. How it's calculated.

DFWJFK
Great-circle route, shaded from 3.1 µSv/h to 3.6 µSv/h. Shading is modelled from the monthly dose-rate grid; totals are CARI-7.

How the sun changes the dose on DFW → JFK

The sun's 11-year cycle moves this number. With the same 2 h 44 min at 35,000 ft, the flight would have received 0.0115 mSv in April 2020, when the sun was quiet and more galactic cosmic rays reached the atmosphere, and 0.00747 mSv in January 2026, near solar maximum: 54% more at the quiet end. In August 2026 it is 0.00941 mSv.

Dose for this flight at 35,000 ft, quarterly
0 µSv5 µSv10 µSv15 µSv20162018202020222024202611.5 µSv7.47 µSv9.41 µSv
0 µSv5 µSv10 µSv15 µSv20162020202411.5 µSv7.47 µSv9.41 µSv
The numbers behind the chart
MonthDoseDose
January 201610.3 µSv0.0103 mSv
April 201610.5 µSv0.0105 mSv
July 201610.5 µSv0.0105 mSv
October 201610.8 µSv0.0108 mSv
January 201710.9 µSv0.0109 mSv
April 201711.2 µSv0.0112 mSv
July 201711 µSv0.011 mSv
October 201710.9 µSv0.0109 mSv
January 201811.1 µSv0.0111 mSv
April 201811.3 µSv0.0113 mSv
July 201811.3 µSv0.0113 mSv
October 201811.5 µSv0.0115 mSv
January 201911 µSv0.011 mSv
April 201911.4 µSv0.0115 mSv
July 201911.3 µSv0.0113 mSv
October 201911.4 µSv0.0115 mSv
January 202011.4 µSv0.0114 mSv
April 202011.5 µSv0.0115 mSv
July 202011.4 µSv0.0114 mSv
October 202011.4 µSv0.0114 mSv
January 202111.1 µSv0.0111 mSv
April 202111.5 µSv0.0115 mSv
July 202111.2 µSv0.0112 mSv
October 202111.3 µSv0.0113 mSv
January 202211.1 µSv0.0111 mSv
April 202210.9 µSv0.0109 mSv
July 202210.1 µSv0.0101 mSv
October 202210.4 µSv0.0104 mSv
January 20239.58 µSv0.00958 mSv
April 20239.69 µSv0.00969 mSv
July 20239.16 µSv0.00916 mSv
October 20239.21 µSv0.00921 mSv
January 20248.71 µSv0.00871 mSv
April 20248.95 µSv0.00894 mSv
July 20249.02 µSv0.00902 mSv
October 20247.91 µSv0.00791 mSv
January 20258.18 µSv0.00818 mSv
April 20258.2 µSv0.0082 mSv
July 20258.11 µSv0.00811 mSv
October 20258.31 µSv0.00831 mSv
January 20267.47 µSv0.00747 mSv
April 20268.45 µSv0.00845 mSv
July 20269.02 µSv0.00902 mSv
August 20269.41 µSv0.00941 mSv

How cruise altitude changes the dose

Flown at 31,000 ft instead, the same flight would receive 0.00685 mSv, 27% less than at 35,000 ft; at 41,000 ft it would receive 0.0136 mSv, 44% more. Same route, same time in the air, same month: only the air overhead changes.

Dose for this flight by cruise altitude, August 2026
  • 31,000 ft6.85 µSv
  • 33,000 ft8.09 µSv
  • 35,000 ft9.41 µSv
  • 37,000 ft10.8 µSv
  • 39,000 ft12.2 µSv
  • 41,000 ft13.6 µSv

Try it: change the altitude and the month

Every combination is its own CARI-7 run for DFW → JFK, with the same 2 h 44 min in the air. It is still a standard flight, not yours: the app calculates your exact flight.

Every combination as a table (µSv)
AltitudeJan 2016Jan 2017Jan 2018Jan 2019Jan 2020Jan 2021Jan 2022Jan 2023Jan 2024Jan 2025Jan 2026Aug 2026
31,000 ft7.467.928.027.968.258.0286.976.355.985.476.85
33,000 ft8.829.389.59.439.779.519.488.237.57.056.458.09
35,000 ft10.310.911.11111.411.111.19.588.718.187.479.41
37,000 ft11.812.612.712.613.112.712.7119.979.368.5410.8
39,000 ft13.414.214.414.314.814.414.412.411.310.69.6112.2
41,000 ft14.915.916.11616.616.116.113.812.511.710.713.6

The return flight: JFK → DFW

JFK → DFW receives 0.0111 mSv at 35,000 ft, 17% more than DFW → JFK, over about 3 h 8 min in the air against 2 h 44 min. The return takes 24 min longer: its track runs against the prevailing westerly winds at cruise altitude. Cosmic radiation builds up with every minute aloft, so the longer direction collects more of it along the same path.

Dose for each direction, standard flight
  • DFW → JFK9.41 µSv
  • JFK → DFW11.1 µSv

Cosmic radiation on New York → Dallas-Fort Worth flights

What 9.41 µSv compares with

Compared withIts doseThis flight is
Chest X-Ray0.1 mSvabout a tenth of a chest X-ray
Dental X-Ray0.005 mSvabout a dental X-ray
Background Radiation (Daily)0.008 mSvabout a day's natural background radiation
Mammogram0.4 mSvabout 2% of a mammogram
Head CT Scan2 mSvabout 1% of a head CT scan
Eating a Banana0.0001 mSvabout 94 bananas

The comparison values are the ones the FlightDose app uses.

Why your flight will differ

  • Altitude. Flown at 31,000 ft instead, the same flight would receive 0.00685 mSv, 27% less than at 35,000 ft; at 41,000 ft it would receive 0.0136 mSv, 44% more. Same route, same time in the air, same month: only the air overhead changes.
  • Time in the air. Every extra 30 minutes on this route adds about 1.7 µSv. Headwinds, holding and routing change it by tens of minutes on a long flight.
  • The month. The sun's 11-year cycle swings this route's dose by about 54% between quiet and active years.
  • The track. Airlines fly tracks that bend with the jet stream, not the exact great circle; a track further from the equator collects more.
  • Solar storms. A rare solar radiation storm can add to the dose for hours; CARI-7's monthly figures don't include one.

FlightDose calculates your exact flight.

Your date, your altitude, your time in the air, with live space weather, and a running total against the limits that matter to you.

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