Yellow, Green and Red(Pink really) are basically used to indicate levels of rain. Green being Light rain with minimal turbulence and goes on to Pink showing heavy rain, hail with severe turbulence.

Excellent question! The colors on FlightAware’s live map indicate the altitude of the aircraft. This is one of the most useful features for quickly understanding the traffic picture.

Here’s the standard color-to-altitude mapping used by FlightAware:

• Purple / Magenta: Ground level to 500 feet. These are aircraft that are either taxiing, taking off, or on final approach about to land.
• Blue: 500 feet to 2,000 feet. Typically aircraft in the initial climb after takeoff or on their descent into an airport.
• Green: 2,000 feet to 10,000 feet. En-route traffic at lower altitudes, often for shorter flights or those that have not yet reached cruising altitude.
• Yellow: 10,000 feet to 20,000 feet. Mid-level cruising altitude for regional jets and turboprops.
• Orange: 20,000 feet to 30,000 feet. Common cruising altitude for many commercial jetliners.
• Red: 30,000 feet to 40,000 feet. High-altitude cruising, typical for long-haul commercial flights.
• White: Above 40,000 feet. Very high-altitude flight, which could include certain business jets (like the Gulfstream G650) or military aircraft.

Important Notes and Other Map Symbols:

1. Aircraft Icon Direction: The nose of the little airplane icon points in the direction the aircraft is heading.
2. Aircraft Trail / History: If you click on an aircraft, you can often see a colored trail behind it showing its recent path. The segments