Articles | Volume 21, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9405-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9405-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
18 Jun 2021
Research article |
| 18 Jun 2021
| 18 Jun 2021
The climate impact of COVID-19-induced contrail changes
Climate and Global Dynamics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations and Modeling Laboratories, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
Chieh-Chieh Chen
Climate and Global Dynamics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations and Modeling Laboratories, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
Charles G. Bardeen
Climate and Global Dynamics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations and Modeling Laboratories, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, CO, USA
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Total article views: 9,193 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
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Total article views: 8,082 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
Thereof 8,048 with geography defined
and 34 with unknown origin.
Total article views: 1,111 (including HTML, PDF, and XML)
Thereof 1,099 with geography defined
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Cited
29 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Description and evaluation of a new contrail cirrus parameterization in the ARPEGE-Climat atmospheric model M. Perini et al.
- How well do Earth system models reproduce the observed aerosol response to rapid emission reductions? A COVID-19 case study R. Digby et al.
- The Nexus of COVID-19 and Climate Change: A Systematic Literature Review C. Mestre Garcia et al.
- Global aviation contrail climate effects from 2019 to 2021 R. Teoh et al.
- Aviation contrail climate effects in the North Atlantic from 2016 to 2021 R. Teoh et al.
- Powering aircraft with 100 % sustainable aviation fuel reduces ice crystals in contrails R. Märkl et al.
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Air Transportation Network in the United States, Europe, and China X. Sun et al.
- The social costs of aviation CO2 and contrail cirrus D. Johansson et al.
- Satellite-based estimation of high-altitude ice cloud radiative forcing derived through a Rapid Contrail-RF Estimation Approach E. Dimitropoulou et al.
- Reduced ice number concentrations in contrails from low-aromatic biofuel blends T. Bräuer et al.
- Effect of COVID-19 global lockdown on our Moon K. Prasad & G. Ambily
- Understanding the role of contrails and contrail cirrus in climate change: a global perspective D. Singh et al.
- Observations of microphysical properties and radiative effects of a contrail cirrus outbreak over the North Atlantic Z. Wang et al.
- Lightweight climate models could be useful for assessing aviation mitigation strategies and moving beyond the CO2-equivalence metrics debate S. Arriolabengoa et al.
- Forecasting contrail climate forcing for flight planning and air traffic management applications: the CocipGrid model in pycontrails 0.51.0 Z. Engberg et al.
- An Observational Constraint on Aviation‐Induced Cirrus From the COVID‐19‐Induced Flight Disruption R. Digby et al.
- Opportunistic experiments to constrain aerosol effective radiative forcing M. Christensen et al.
- Sustainable aviation in the context of the Paris Agreement: A review of prospective scenarios and their technological mitigation levers S. Delbecq et al.
- Predicting the climate impact of aviation for en-route emissions: the algorithmic climate change function submodel ACCF 1.0 of EMAC 2.53 F. Yin et al.
- Weather Variability Induced Uncertainty of Contrail Radiative Forcing L. Wilhelm et al.
- Contrail coverage over the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic V. Meijer et al.
- Targeted use of paraffinic kerosene: Potentials and implications G. Quante et al.
- Substantial aircraft contrail formation at low soot emission levels C. Voigt et al.
- Significant changes in cloud radiative effects over Southwestern United States during the COVID-19 flight reduction period J. Wang et al.
- Unveiling the critical role of tall-stack emissions in winter nitrate episodes over North China through machine learning and 3D model analysis T. Yang et al.
- Impact of host climate model on contrail cirrus effective radiative forcing estimates W. Zhang et al.
- Modelling contrail cirrus using a double-moment cloud microphysics scheme in the UK Met Office Unified Model W. Zhang et al.
- Exploring the uncertainties in the aviation soot–cirrus effect M. Righi et al.
- Impact of the COVID-19 on the vertical distributions of major pollutants from a tower in the Pearl River Delta L. Li et al.
29 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Description and evaluation of a new contrail cirrus parameterization in the ARPEGE-Climat atmospheric model M. Perini et al.
- How well do Earth system models reproduce the observed aerosol response to rapid emission reductions? A COVID-19 case study R. Digby et al.
- The Nexus of COVID-19 and Climate Change: A Systematic Literature Review C. Mestre Garcia et al.
- Global aviation contrail climate effects from 2019 to 2021 R. Teoh et al.
- Aviation contrail climate effects in the North Atlantic from 2016 to 2021 R. Teoh et al.
- Powering aircraft with 100 % sustainable aviation fuel reduces ice crystals in contrails R. Märkl et al.
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Air Transportation Network in the United States, Europe, and China X. Sun et al.
- The social costs of aviation CO2 and contrail cirrus D. Johansson et al.
- Satellite-based estimation of high-altitude ice cloud radiative forcing derived through a Rapid Contrail-RF Estimation Approach E. Dimitropoulou et al.
- Reduced ice number concentrations in contrails from low-aromatic biofuel blends T. Bräuer et al.
- Effect of COVID-19 global lockdown on our Moon K. Prasad & G. Ambily
- Understanding the role of contrails and contrail cirrus in climate change: a global perspective D. Singh et al.
- Observations of microphysical properties and radiative effects of a contrail cirrus outbreak over the North Atlantic Z. Wang et al.
- Lightweight climate models could be useful for assessing aviation mitigation strategies and moving beyond the CO2-equivalence metrics debate S. Arriolabengoa et al.
- Forecasting contrail climate forcing for flight planning and air traffic management applications: the CocipGrid model in pycontrails 0.51.0 Z. Engberg et al.
- An Observational Constraint on Aviation‐Induced Cirrus From the COVID‐19‐Induced Flight Disruption R. Digby et al.
- Opportunistic experiments to constrain aerosol effective radiative forcing M. Christensen et al.
- Sustainable aviation in the context of the Paris Agreement: A review of prospective scenarios and their technological mitigation levers S. Delbecq et al.
- Predicting the climate impact of aviation for en-route emissions: the algorithmic climate change function submodel ACCF 1.0 of EMAC 2.53 F. Yin et al.
- Weather Variability Induced Uncertainty of Contrail Radiative Forcing L. Wilhelm et al.
- Contrail coverage over the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic V. Meijer et al.
- Targeted use of paraffinic kerosene: Potentials and implications G. Quante et al.
- Substantial aircraft contrail formation at low soot emission levels C. Voigt et al.
- Significant changes in cloud radiative effects over Southwestern United States during the COVID-19 flight reduction period J. Wang et al.
- Unveiling the critical role of tall-stack emissions in winter nitrate episodes over North China through machine learning and 3D model analysis T. Yang et al.
- Impact of host climate model on contrail cirrus effective radiative forcing estimates W. Zhang et al.
- Modelling contrail cirrus using a double-moment cloud microphysics scheme in the UK Met Office Unified Model W. Zhang et al.
- Exploring the uncertainties in the aviation soot–cirrus effect M. Righi et al.
- Impact of the COVID-19 on the vertical distributions of major pollutants from a tower in the Pearl River Delta L. Li et al.
Saved (final revised paper)
Discussed (final revised paper)
Latest update: 09 May 2026
Short summary
The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant economic disruption in 2020 and severely impacted air traffic. We use a climate model to evaluate the effect of the reductions in aviation on climate in 2020. Contrails, in general, warm the planet, and COVID-19-related reductions in contrails cooled the land surface in 2020. The timing of reductions in aviation was important, and this may change how we think about the future effects of contrails.
The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant economic disruption in 2020 and severely impacted air...
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