Night flights affect the climate

3.04.38pm UTC (GMT +0000) Wed 21st Jun 2006

Vincent Cable, MP, has asked ministers to review their policy on night flights in the light of research published in the top science journal, Nature, that the global warming impact of aviation is twice as serious for the environment at night as during the day. This is because condensation trails (contrials) trap heat more effectively after dark (during the day contrails reflect sunlight back into space). The scientific study conducted by Leeds University showed that flights between 6pm and 6am contributed 60-80% of the warming effect though they made up only a quarter of the flights.

Vincent Cable said that "this piece of new science is a real turn up for the books. It is widely recognised that aviation is now the most rapidly growing source of CO2 emissions which contribute to global warming but the night/day differential is new. I have put down questions asking ministers if they will study the new scientific data and revisit the policy on night flights".