About Contrails

Contrails — the thin, white lines you sometimes see behind airplanes — have a surprisingly large impact on our climate. The 2022 IPCC report noted that clouds created by contrails account for roughly 35% of aviation's global warming impact — over half the impact of the world’s jet fuel.

Contrails form when airplanes fly through layers of humidity and can persist as cirrus clouds for minutes or hours depending on the atmospheric conditions. While these extra clouds can reflect sunlight back into space during the day, they also trap large amounts of heat that would otherwise leave the Earth’s atmosphere. This creates a net warming effect. Avoiding flying through areas that create contrails can reduce warming.

Contrails Explorer visualizes contrails detected in satellite imagery over the contiguous United States.