The Red Arrows used more than 2.6 million litres of jet fuel in the last year, leading to 12,746 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions – the same as driving a petrol car from London to Glasgow and back more than 70,000 times.

The RAF’s acrobatic display team was formed 60 years ago and performs at air shows and military events across the world.

Military officials say that the Red Arrows “are one of the ways the UK strengthens its relationships abroad,” and says that the team helps to support British industry.

But all of this publicity for the UK is coming at a high cost to the climate and the air that we breathe, and at a time when the public are being asked to reduce the number of flights that they take, to help protect the climate.

The RAF doesn’t publicise these figures – we only found out by sending what’s known as an FOI (freedom of information) request to the Ministry of Defence, which told us that “the RAF is working to reduce its carbon footprint”.