Louisiana Advances Ban on ‘Chemtrails’

State representative claims contrails, the result of hot aircraft engine exhaust, are changing weather patterns.

Zach Vasile

Monday, June 02, 2025 at 03:12 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Contrails produced by aircraft. [Credit: Edward Winstead]

Key Takeaways:

Louisiana lawmakers have advanced SB 46, a bill banning "chemtrails," based on a conspiracy theory that aircraft are spraying chemicals to modify the weather.
The bill's proponents claim aircraft exhaust contains chemicals for weather alteration, despite scientific consensus that these streaks are natural condensation trails (contrails).
SB 46 has passed both the state House and Senate and, if enacted, would go into effect in August, also requiring the collection of citizen complaints about chemtrails.
Previous legislative attempts in the U.S. and other countries to outlaw "chemtrails" have consistently failed due to a lack of scientific evidence.

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Lawmakers in Louisiana have advanced a bill based largely on a conspiracy theory alleging that aircraft are spraying nanochemicals that alter the weather.

SB 46, passed by the state House of Representatives on May 29, would ban “chemtrails,” the white streaks that trail from jets as they fly. The white lines are actually known as condensation trails or contrails, and they are the result of water vapor in hot aircraft engine exhaust hitting low temperatures at high altitudes.