You’ve probably heard the story – planes releasing mysterious chemicals to alter the weather, control our thoughts, or conduct who-knows-what experiments on us. Maybe you’ve even looked up at the sky, seen those white trails, and wondered: “What’s really coming out of those planes?”
It turns out those trails – described in conspiracy theories as chemtrails (chemical trails), and in science as contrails (short for condensation trails) – actually do have the power to influence the climate, but not in the way conspiracy theorists believe. Science is now fairly certain: these trails may not contain secret substances, but they’re definitely not harmless.
We all know aviation contributes to global warming by emitting carbon dioxide (CO₂). But what’s less known is that contrails themselves can have an even greater short-term effect on the climate than CO₂. Here’s how.
When a jet engine burns fuel, it releases water vapor, soot, and other particles. At high altitudes, where temperatures are extremely low, the water vapor condenses around those particles and forms tiny ice crystals – the white streaks we see in the sky. Most trails disappear quickly, but if the air is very cold and humid, these trails can last for hours and spread out, forming cirrus-like clouds.
And that’s where the problem begins: airplane contrails act like a massive atmospheric blanket, trapping heat that would otherwise escape into space, thereby contributing to global warming, according to the European Federation for Transport and Environment.
In fact, contrails have a dual nature. During the day, they can partially reflect sunlight back into space, similar to regular white clouds, which slightly cools the planet – while still trapping heat below them. At night, it’s a different story – with no solar radiation to reflect, contrails act purely as insulation, preventing the Earth from cooling down.
You might now think: “Okay, but these clouds disperse after a few hours, while CO₂ stays in the atmosphere for centuries. Aren’t contrails a smaller problem?”
Yes, a single trail doesn’t last long, but planes fly every day, every hour, constantly creating new ones. It’s like trying to mop the floor while leaving the faucet running.
What surprises me most is how little has been done to address this issue, even though there are several relatively simple solutions – like changing flight altitudes, using cleaner fuel, and optimizing routes.
For instance, if pilots avoided flying at altitudes where contrails are most likely to form, their occurrence could be significantly reduced. Also, using eco-fuels that produce less soot when burned would lower the number of particles around which ice crystals form. There are even software tools that can predict where contrails are most likely to form and help redirect flights to areas where they would quickly disperse.
So, airplane contrails might not be part of a secret plan to control the population, but they certainly affect the climate more than most people realize. And while the world spends billions on reducing CO₂ emissions, contrails still remain in the shadows. We might never eliminate them completely, but if we’re serious about reducing aviation’s impact on global warming, it’s time we finally take them into account.
Milena Maglovski
