Chennai IAF air show emits roughly over 2,300 tonnes of CO2

CHENNAI: The aircraft emitted as much as 2,366 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2), as per a rough estimation by A Shankar Prakash, a city-based researcher, who said that jet fuel emits 3.16 kg of CO2 and 1.2 kg of NO2 per litre. Including the rehearsals, a total of 72 aircraft flew for 8 hours each on an average.

Considering the average fuel consumption of each aircraft is 1,300 litres per hour, the jets would have used roughly around 7.50 lakh litres of fuel in total, he explained.

Apart from 2,366 tonnes of CO2, around 746.4 kg of NO2 might have been emitted by the air crafts. “The numbers are a rough calculation. When the numbers are calculated accurately, total emissions may slightly vary. Also, the vehicles of spectators who visited the beach might have resulted in heavy pollution. Heavy traffic snarls would have caused unusual emissions on the day,” he opined.

Scientist Rebellion India, a part of international scientists’ environmentalist group, pointed out that to sink all the carbon emitted during the event and rehearsals, 1,718 trees per aircraft (8 flying hours each) should be planted.

“Each jet, like the Rafale or SU-30, could burn through 1,500 litres of fuel per hour. Imagine that for 8 hours of flight time during rehearsals and the show. That’s 12,000 litres per aircraft! This isn’t just a local issue. Air shows contribute to global warming, affecting everything from Arctic ice to your summer beach days. It’s all connected,” the group posted in X.