In the three days following the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City , when no commercial aircraft flew in the United States , climate scientists measured the daily temperature range over 5000 weather stations across the USA . The results showed a 1 ° Celsius change in the average daily temperature range for those days of the year , thus showing contrails do have a significant impact on climate . Potential ways of reducing the impact of contrails on our climate include reducing the maximum cruising altitude of aircraft so high-altitude contrails can not form . Cruising at lower altitudes would marginally increase flight time and increase fuel consumption by 4 %
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Mitigation of aviation's environmental impact