'It's telling us there's something big going on': Unprecedented spike in atmospheric methane during the COVID-19 pandemic has a troubling explanation
www.livescience.com
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the atmosphere temporarily lost its ability to break down methane, leading to a huge spike in the greenhouse gas.

The increase in atmospheric methane in 2020 was actually caused principally by reduced air pollution during the pandemic.

  • fake_meowsOP
    12·
    5 months ago

    The study is here.

    Our analysis shows that reductions in OH during the COVID-19 period (2020–2021), followed by a recovery through 2023, accounted for ~80% of the interannual variations in the CH4 growth rate. These reductions were linked to declines in NOx and CO emissions from human activities during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which temporarily weakened the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. When OH rebounded, the methane sink strengthened, slowing the growth rate.