There was a record-breaking increase in methane in Earth’s atmosphere last year

In an aerial view, some pumpjacks operate while others stand idle in the Belridge oil field on November 3rd, 2021, near McKittrick, California. | Photo by Mario Tama / Getty Images Concentrations of a super potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere — methane — grew tremendously in 2021. It’s still something of a mystery why the world saw such an “exceptional increase” last year, says the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which released the numbers yesterday. The reasons for the big leap last year are unclear because methane in the atmosphere can come from many different sources. But we do know who’s consistently responsible for huge amounts of methane pollution. Every year, the oil and gas industry leaks tremendous amounts of methane. There are also natural sources of methane emissions, and climate change can make that a bigger problem. So it’s no wonder methane is building up at astonishing levels in our... Continue reading…