Ghazipur: A super-emitter of methane: Report

Methane is a strong greenhouse gas that promotes atmospheric warming. Research using satellite data obtained between 2019 and 2023 indicated a total of 1,256 “super-emitter events” worldwide, including the Ghazipur dump in Delhi, was among the highest emitters of methane.

The data analysis in the Guardian article came from Kayrros, a business that monitors environmental pollution using various satellites.

The Ghazipur landfill was discovered to have at least 124 super-emitted occurrences between January 2019 and June 2023. Among them was one in April 2022, when the quantity of methane released into the sky was “equivalent to the pollution caused by 68m petrol cars running simultaneously.”

The updated data shows that 1,256 methane super-emitter occurrences had occurred between January 2019 and June 2023. The countries with the biggest leakage are Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, followed by Argentina, Uzbekistan, and Spain, according to the research.

The paper also said that since 2020, Delhi has seen “at least 124 super-emitter events from city landfills.” According to the paper, the worst incident in India happened in Delhi in April 2022, when 434 tons of methane per hour were released into the sky.

Fires broke out at the dump many times that month. On March 28 of that year, a large fire broke out over a portion of the dump for the first time before reoccurring many times, shooting a thick column of smoke several meters into the sky and enveloping the surrounding region in a poisonous haze, according to police and fire department authorities at the time.

At the location, these fires have often started, particularly in the summer.

According to the Guardian story, there was an explosion in February close to Lahore, Pakistan, that released methane “at 214 tonnes an hour, equivalent to 34 million car exhausts.”

When organic matter breaks down in the absence of oxygen, landfills release methane. The research also said that methane is an important target for climate action since it traps 86 times more heat in the atmosphere over a 20-year period than carbon dioxide does.