04/11/2022 05:00 (act 04/11/2022 10:08)
Guterres: “We are on the fast track to climate catastrophe.” ©APA/dpa/Christoph Soeder
The second most dangerous greenhouse gas after CO2, methane, rose at a record pace in 2021.
The concentration in the atmosphere increased by 17 ppb (parts per billion). This is the biggest increase since records began in 1983, the US Oceans and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA) said, based on measurements from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. By 2020, methane concentration had already increased faster than at any time since records began.
In 2021 there was the biggest increase in methane since the beginning of measurements
Methane (CH4) doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (CO2), but in the first 20 years it has a greenhouse effect about 80 times stronger than CO2. The two consecutive significant increases show that the concentration of the second most important greenhouse gas, such as the atmospheric concentration of CO2, is increasing at a rapid pace. In 1896 ppb, the concentration of methane is more than two and a half times higher than before industrialization began, writes the German scientific journal Spektrum.
Cause of increase in methane concentration unknown
As the report goes on to say, it has not finally been clarified why the concentration of methane in the atmosphere is increasing so rapidly. Around the turn of the millennium, the methane level was stable for about a decade and has only risen sharply since 2007. Where the extra gas comes from is a matter of debate. The sources are difficult to prove with certainty because there are many natural and artificial sources of methane, including in agriculture, whose changes are not easy to measure. Many experts suspect that leaks in the production and distribution of natural gas are the main cause of the problem, because its production has increased significantly since the turn of the millennium – but there are also analyzes that contradict this.
Researchers have warned of a tipping point in Europe’s permafrost areas
Researchers recently warned in the journal Nature Climate Change that Europe’s permafrost areas could soon reach a tipping point and, due to ongoing global warming, could release massive amounts of carbon dioxide and methane. If methane escapes unchecked from the permafrost, it further fuels the climate crisis – a vicious circle. Scientists speak of tipping points that can no longer be reversed.
Guterres: “We’re on the fast track to climate catastrophe”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres chose drastic words in light of last week’s drama when he presented the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): “We are on the fast track to climate catastrophe”.