The white lines seen behind aircraft are known as contrails—and they may be contributing more to climate change than previously thought.
These aircraft vapor trails are ice clouds formed by jet engines. Scientists are now exploring ways to predict where contrails will develop so planes can avoid creating them.
A £5 million UK trial is testing whether advanced weather forecasting can identify areas where contrails are most likely to form as global temperatures rise.
The 30-month Operation Blue Skies project is a collaboration between Google, the UK government, the Met Office, air traffic control provider NATS and university researchers.
The research will focus on Shanwick maritime airspace in the eastern section of the North Atlantic Corridor, an area estimated to account for around 5% of global contrail-related warming.
Contrails, also called vapor trails, form when hot aircraft engine exhaust mixes with extremely cold air at high altitude, creating tiny ice crystals.
While many contrails vanish within minutes, others can remain for hours and spread in cold, humid conditions. These thin clouds can trap heat that would otherwise escape into space, adding to aviation’s impact on climate change.
Dr Paul Hodgson, Google’s head of technology for Operation Blue Skies, told the BBC’s Tech Life programme that his five-year-old son describes contrails as a “doodle in the sky”, giving the white lines a more colourful meaning.
“We think contrail warming is responsible for about a third of aviation’s total climate warming,” he said.
Dr Hodgson said there is still uncertainty around the precise figures, but scientists agree that contrail warming represents a significant environmental challenge.
The trial comes as the UK government supports airport expansion, prompting debate over whether technology-based solutions can reduce aviation’s environmental impact while demand for air travel continues to grow.
Google is also investing heavily in data centres—large, energy-intensive facilities that support artificial intelligence and other digital services. Environmental groups warn that the growing demand for computing power could create additional pressure on the climate.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk