Increase in atmospheric methane set another record last year: NOAA
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Plugging methane leaks and phasing out fossil fuels are required to avoid catastrophic global warming, according to climate scientists.
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The unprecedented increases in methane suggest it is being leaked from oil and gas drilling operations. (AP).
US governmental data revealed that atmospheric levels of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, increased by a record amount in 2021 for the second year in a row.
The concentration of methane in the Earth's atmosphere increased by 17 parts per billion (ppb) in 2021, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) monitoring. This constitutes the largest annual increase since modern measurements began in 1983. The previous high-water mark of 15.3 ppb was set in 2020.
While carbon dioxide emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels can linger in the atmosphere for generations, methane has a much shorter lifetime.
Methane, on the other hand, is a far more potent greenhouse gas: it is 25 times more effective at trapping heat and is a significant short-term driver of the climate crisis. Climate activists argue that methane is a "blow torch" to the climate, as opposed to CO2's gradual boil.
According to scientists, rapid reductions in methane could help prevent catastrophic global warming; however, record increases in methane suggest that it is being leaked from oil and gas drilling operations and released from agriculture at dangerously high rates.
On his account, Rick Spinrad, administrator of NOAA, said that “our data show that global emissions continue to move in the wrong direction at a rapid pace," adding that “the evidence is consistent, alarming, and undeniable.
“Reducing methane emissions is an important tool we can use right now to lessen the impacts of climate change in the near term and reduce the rate of warming,” said Spinrad.
Climate activists said the "alarming" rise in methane emissions should spur immediate action to plug methane leaks.
