A decade long rise of the potent greenhouse gas methane threatens to make the fight against global warming even harder.
A consortium of 81 scientists have found that methane rose gradually from 2000-2006. Then, the CH
4 concentration rose 10 fold in the following decade.The large increase was sharp in 2014 and 2015, keeping global warming below 3.6 degree F is now a challenging target.
With 1 degree celsius of warming above pre-industrial era levels so far, the world has seen a rise in extreme weather including droughts, superstorms, heat waves and coastal flooding boosted by rising seas.
On current trends, average global temperatures are on the track by more than 3 degrees F by 2100 even if national carbon cutting pledges annexed to the Paris Agreement are honoured.
Without these pledges, the increase would be more higher.
To date, efforts to keep the planet from overheating have focused mostly on the main greenhouse has CO
2, a by-product of burning fossil fuels that account for at least 70 percent of warming.
Even as CO
2 started to plateau, CH
4 is responsible for 20 percent of the increase in global temperature and has started soaring.
Pace of recent emissions aligns with IPCC recommendations.
Methane- Also known as CH4.
- 28 times for efficient at trapping the sun’s heat.
- Earth naturally absorbs CH4.
- Like CO2, CH4 is naturally released as well.
