- Study was conducted using satellite data to identify methane emission hotspots, marking a first-of-its-kind effort in India.
- Study employed data from NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) and European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P TROPOMI.
- Key Findings:
- Enhancement of methane point sources are detected over various urban centres in India.
- Out of total carbon emissions in India, 14.43% is attributed to methane.
- A Sewage outlet in Central Mumbai, Ahmedabad’s Pirana landfill and Surat’s Khajod landfill are three worst methane hotspots in India.
- About Methane:
- Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28 times higher than CO2 over 100-year period.
- It is second largest contributor to climate change after CO2.
- Methane is a Short-Lived Climate Pollutant and has a more immediate and intense warming effect on atmosphere.
- It is also a key precursor gas of harmful air pollutant, tropospheric ozone.
- Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28 times higher than CO2 over 100-year period.
- Sources of Methane:
- Solid waste/landfills (accounting for around 20% of India’s anthropogenic methane emissions)
- Fossil fuels – Leakage from natural gas, oil and gas field and oil refineries
- Agriculture - Enteric fermentation from livestock rearing and rice cultivation.
- Wetlands, Textile industries, etc.
Initiatives taken to reduce methane emissions
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