Right Path

Introduction

Aircraft CAN significantly reduce their role in global warming by choosing the correct flight route. When an aircraft passes through a region in the sky where the air is extremely cold and moist, a condensation trail (contrail) gets formed and stays for hours. Like normal clouds, contrails prevent heat from escaping the planet. Such cold and moist air in the sky is found around high pressure systems. If aircraft can avoid such regions, they can prevent formation of contrail. Studies have shown that global warming caused by contrails could be as large as that caused by carbon dioxide emissions from aircraft.

Source

Down To Earth, July 2014