A satellite image taken two days ago showed a cloud of methane near a landfill in Mumbai, India. Garbage is known to create potent greenhouse gas when organic materials like food scraps decay without oxygen.
Methane emissions are a big contributor to global warming and landfills along with wastewater are responsible for 20% of methane emissions from human activity. It is 30% responsible for the planet's warming. The satellite image suggests the emission rate was 1,328 kgs per hour of methane, reported Bloomberg.
According to experts, methane has 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during the first two decades in the atmosphere. Cutting down its emissions is among the cheapest and fastest ways to cool the planet. The planet is currently experiencing the fifth or sixth hottest year on record.
One among the series of images from emissions monitoring firm GHGSat Inc showed six methane releases in northeast China near the Daqing oilfield. Estimated emissions rates range between 446-884 kgs per hour. The cumulative rate was 4,477 kgs an hour. If it lasts an hour, it will have the same impact as annual emissions from 81 cars.
The images will be published during COP27 when world leaders are meeting to discuss the climate crisis. It is the 27th annual UN meeting on climate and will take place in Sharm-el-Sheikh from 6 to 18 November.