Airplane Contrails Are Making Climate Change Worse

More than 40,000 airplanes crisscross the skies above the U.S. every day. The engines propelling the metal birds through the wild blue yonder leave behind distinct line-shaped clouds known as contrails. The wispy clouds form when water vapor from fuel combustion condenses and crystallizes into ice. The ice clouds trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere and contribute substantially to climate change.