Methane levels in the air have jumped 2.6 times higher than in pre-industrial times, and they continue to increase.
Methane levels in the air are reportedly now almost 2.6 times higher than in pre-industrial times, as per a recent study. The heat-trapping gas methane can further aid in climate change as humans continue to pump it into the atmosphere, both in amount and proportion. According to the study, in 2020, the world will put out 670 million tons (608 million metric tons) of methane in the air, and the amount is almost 12% more than what it was in 2000. Adding to it, the humans were behind increasing it almost 18% in the last 20 years, while the natural emissions, mostly from wetlands, were up by just 2%.
Methane levels in the air have catapulted to almost 2.6 times higher than in pre-industrial times, and they continue to increase. Humans lead to these methane emissions by burning fossil fuels when they do large-scale agriculture.
Study lead author Rob Jackson, head of the Global Carbon Project said in a statement, “Methane is a climate menace that the world is ignoring,” adding, “Methane has risen far more and much faster than carbon dioxide."
For those caught unaware, the Global Carbon Project is a group of scientists to gauge the greenhouse gas emissions yearly. And as per Jackson, Carbon dioxide remains the biggest threat. The Stanford University climate scientist further asserted that by burning coal, oil and natural gas, humans pump 60 times more carbon dioxide in the air than methane. And guess what? It lasts thousands of years. Methane, on the other hand, might leave the atmosphere in about a decade, and this data can be used to fight climate change.
In 2000, around 60% of the methane in the air was due to direct human activity. And now it's reached 65%. “It's a very worrying paper, but actually not a big surprise unfortunately,” climate scientist Bill Hare, CEO of Climate Analytics said, adding that the world needs to decrease carbon dioxide emissions nearly in half and methane by more than one-third.
Adding to it, Jackson reiterated that with the current trend with methane emissions is putting the world ahead for warming of 3 degrees Celsius, and as per the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the goal was not more than 1.5 degrees Celsius. He further mentioned that geographically, there has been a rise in human-caused methane emissions in Asia, especially China and India.
While the methane emissions from coal mining, oil and gas have gone up 33% in the past two decades, the landfill and waste jumped up 20% and agriculture emissions rose 14%.
