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Detecting Methane Emissions from Space in India: A study by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO)

Posted 09 Feb 2024

Updated 16 Mar 2024

2 min read

  • Study was conducted using satellite data to identify methane emission hotspots, marking a first-of-its-kind effort in India. 
    • Study employed data from NASA’s Earth Surface Mineral Dust Source Investigation (EMIT) and European Space Agency’s Sentinel-5P TROPOMI.

 

  • Key Findings:
    • Enhancement of methane point sources are detected over various urban centres in India.
    • Out of total carbon emissions in India, 14.43% is attributed to methane.
    • A Sewage outlet in Central Mumbai, Ahmedabad’s Pirana landfill and Surat’s Khajod landfill are three worst methane hotspots in India.

 

  • About Methane:
    • Methane (CH4) is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28 times higher than CO2 over 100-year period. 
      • It is second largest contributor to climate change after CO2.
    • Methane is a Short-Lived Climate Pollutant and has a more immediate and intense warming effect on atmosphere. 
    • It is also a key precursor gas of harmful air pollutant, tropospheric ozone.

 

  • Sources of Methane:
    • Solid waste/landfills (accounting for around 20% of India’s anthropogenic methane emissions) 
    • Fossil fuels – Leakage from natural gas, oil and gas field and oil refineries
    • Agriculture - Enteric fermentation from livestock rearing and rice cultivation. 
    • Wetlands, Textile industries, etc. 

 

Initiatives taken to reduce methane emissions

  • Global initiatives:
    • UNEP Global Methane Initiative advancing cost-effective near-term methane abatement
    • The Global Methane Pledge to cut methane emissions by at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels.  (Not signed by India)
  • India’s initiatives:
    • Gobar (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) Dhan scheme for conversion of waste into resources and reduction of methane emissions.
    • National Biogas and Manure Management Program which helps capture and utilise methane emissions from organic waste sources. 
  • Tags :
  • ISRO
  • Methane emission
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