Is poor air quality in Zagreb the result of poison being sprayed from airplanes? No, that's not true: According to the Andrija Štampar Institute of Public Health, it is common to experience reduced air quality during winter months due to an increase in the concentration of floating particles in the air. Spraying plumes of poison from airplanes, creating so-called chemtrails, is a known conspiracy theory that has been previously debunked.
The claim appeared in a TikTok video (archived here) on February 8, 2024, with a caption translated into English from Croatian by Lead Stories staff that reads:
Air analysis in Zagreb .. the situation is extremely dangerous☠️. Poisoning from ✈️🛩️✈️🛩️🛫 must be stopped, professionally investigated (water analysis): everything about it and the culprits in the Republic of Croatia punished with prison
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Wed Feb 18 08:48:40 2024 UTC)
Air quality in Zagreb
Zagreb's air quality has been very poor according to data from air quality measurement stations (archived here) however, this is not a result of chemtrails, as the post claims. Instead, it is a common occurrence during winter months, as explained by the Andrija Štampar Institute of Public Health (archived here), translated from Croatian into English by Lead Stories staff:
During the winter months, it is common to experience reduced air quality due to an increase in the concentration of floating particles in the air (PM10 and PM2.5). The causes are numerous, such as, for example, a greater number of domestic and industrial fireplaces, road traffic, weather conditions, and other. Short-term air pollution with floating particles, common for this time of year, does not pose a significant threat to human health.
Chemtrails
Chemtrails are a known conspiracy theory (archived here), that posits that governments or other parties are engaged in a secret program aimed at sterilization, reduction of life expectancy, mind control, or weather control. The conspiracy suggests that this is done by adding toxic chemicals to the atmosphere from aircraft in a way that forms visible plumes in the sky, somewhat similar to condensation trails, or contrails. The theory was proven false many times, as there is no evidence to support it.
According to Encyclopædia Britannica (archived here), airplanes form condensation trails (archived here), commonly called contrails, when water vapor produced by the combustion of fuel in airplane engines condenses upon soot particles or sulfur aerosols in the plane's exhaust. In low air humidity, the crystals just dissipate. In higher humidity, they persist and end up creating visible vapor trails over large areas of the sky.
Lead Stories has debunked claims regarding the chemtrails conspiracy here.
