Why in the News?Â
Recently, ISRO scientists released a first-of-its-kind comprehensive analysis paper on the methane emissions over multiple Indian locations using satellite data.
- The study employed data from NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) and European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P TROPOMI.
Key Findings of the Paper:Â
- Regional Emission hotspot: 17 unique plumes were identified in the states of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat and Assam.Â
- Emission source point: Solid waste landfill sites, sewage treatment plant, wetlands/marshy agriculture, city sewage outlet, oil and gas field, oil refinery and textile industry.Â
- Increase in Methane Emission from municipal solid waste landfills: The net annual emission of India from municipal solid waste landfills is estimated to be 1084 Gg (Giga-gram) in 2015, whereas it was 404 Gg in 1999-2000.Â
- Aids carbon emission: Out of the total carbon emissions in India, 14.43% is attributed to CH4.Â
- The major share of this percentage is contributed by enteric fermentation and rice cultivation areas of agriculture.
About Methane:Â
- Methane (CH4) is a hydrocarbon that is a primary component of natural gas.Â
- It is also a potent greenhouse gas (GHG) responsible for approximately a third of the warming being experienced today.
- It is a powerful and short-lived (GHG), with a lifetime of about a decade and a Global Warming Potential about 80 times greater than that of carbon dioxide (CO2) during the 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere (IPCC).Â
- Methane emissions lead to ground-level ozone pollution which causes approximately a million premature deaths per year globally, reduces crop productivity and harms ecosystems.Â
- The majority of human-driven methane emissions come from three main sectors:
- Agriculture (40%): Enteric fermentation from livestock rearing and rice cultivation.Â
- Fossil fuels (35%): Leakage from natural gas, oil and gas field, mining, etc.
- Solid waste and wastewater (20%): Dumpsites, landfills, etc.Â
- Proven technologies and practices could reduce emissions from the major sectors by approximately 45% by 2030.Â
- Most of these technical solutions can be implemented at a negative or low cost, especially in the fossil fuel and waste sectors.Â
- Anthropogenic emission sources include solid waste disposal sites, O&G industry, mining areas..Â
- Imaging spectrometer enables detection of highly-localised sources of methane which can be used for identifying leaks coming from very localised sources.
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