Changing flight paths could slash aviation’s climate impact

Small changes to aircraft flight paths to avoid the atmospheric conditions that create condensation trails—known as contrails—could reduce aviation’s global warming impact by nearly half, a new study suggests. The study, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge, suggests that changing cruising altitude by a few thousand feet, either up or down, could prevent contrails from forming. Reducing or avoiding contrail formation in this way would also be faster and cheaper than other climate mitigation measures for the aviation industry, since the practice can be adopted with existing aircraft and fuel.

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