AI to help planes avoid climate-warming 'sky graffiti'

Sky graffiti, also known as contrails, contribute to climate change through the formation of icy clouds. A £5 million UK trial, dubbed Operation Blue Skies, will leverage artificial intelligence to predict and avoid areas where these warming contrails are likely to develop. The 30-month project, involving Google, the UK government, the Met Office, air traffic control provider NATS, and researchers from the University of Cambridge and Imperial College London, will focus on the Shanwick Oceanic airspace in the eastern North Atlantic, responsible for about 5% of global contrail warming.

Dr Paul Hodgson, Google's technical lead, explains that contrails form when hot engine exhaust meets cold high-altitude air, creating ice crystals that can persist and trap heat. The project aims to predict the atmospheric regions where contrails are probable, enabling aircraft to alter their altitude by about 2,000 feet, a common practice to avoid turbulence.

AI will analyze satellite images and flight data to forecast contrail formation, with the information relayed to NATS for air traffic controllers to steer pilots away from these areas. While some may wonder if the additional fuel use to change altitude could negate the climate benefits, trials suggest the CO2 penalty is less than 1%, compared to the significant climate impact of contrail warming.

Aviation Minister Keir Mather highlights this as a world-first, showcasing British ingenuity in addressing aviation's environmental impact amidst growing demand for air travel.