Some contrails can contribute to global warming. Contrails—pure ice clouds (“cirrus”) that form from aircraft exhaust under specific cold conditions—can trap heat in the atmosphere, sometimes creating ...

Contrails vs Chemtrails | Meteorologist Heather Waldman answers a question that repeatedly shows up in her inbox.

Contrails conjure a sense of something overwhelming and ineffable, as terrifying as it is beautiful. By Kate Folk I spend most days working from home, in my apartment in San Francisco’s Richmond ...

Suggested Citation: "1 Overview." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2025. Developing a Research Agenda on Contrails and Their Climate Impacts. Washington, DC: The National ...

Aviation's climate impact is partly due to contrails—condensation that a plane streaks across the sky when it flies through icy and humid layers of the atmosphere. Contrails trap heat that radiates ...

Contrails are clouds made of ice particles, which can be created when airplanes fly through cold, humid air. Persistent contrails are estimated to have a warming climate impact. Flight tests will ...

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and General Electric Aerospace have completed a week of joint testing to better understand how contrails form and behave over time. GE's Boeing ...

Four research figures show how contrails appear in two satellite views (left) and two photographs taken from the MIT Green Building. Aviation’s climate impact is partly due to contrails — condensation ...