Contrails are created by jet engines cruising at altitude. Is it a cause for worry? Not in the way you might think. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. Modern aircraft are producing longer-lasting contrails that warm the ...

The contrail clouds formed by jet engines contribute to global warming. In-flight measurements of the particles emitted and contrails produced by a passenger jet show that contrails are formed through ...

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 ...

From the top of a plane wing, another airplane is seen flying above clouds in a blue sky, leaving a contrail in its wake. In spring 2023, scientists aboard a research aircraft chased an Airbus A321neo ...

Contrails, short for condensation trails, are the white streaks often seen in the sky behind aircraft. The international cloud atlas, which classifies clouds, has a category just for them: cirrus ...

Reducing aircraft soot emissions may not reduce contrail clouds, according to in-flight observations of emissions from a passenger jet with modern "lean-burn" engines, reported in Nature. Contrails ...

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 ...

IN THE SKIES OVER MONTANA ― It was a six hour flight that officially didn't go anywhere, but could help usher in a new chapter of aviation sustainability. A high altitude series of science experiments ...