In terms of magnitude, only the sabotage once morest the North Stream pipeline caused such pollution.
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A methane leak in Kazakhstan damaged the atmosphere with the most serious methane pollution last year, following 125,000 tons of natural gas was released into the atmosphere following an explosion at a hydrocarbon deposit. The pollutant was released into the atmosphere for more than half a year, between June 9 and December 25, 2023.
Methane increases the rate of global warming to a much greater extent than carbon dioxide, which is why scientists attach great importance to the news. Among the methane leaks ever recorded, this is the most significant in the world. Such a huge amount of greenhouse gas was released into the atmosphere that it corresponds to the traffic of more than 700,000 gasoline-powered cars for a year.
A BBC information according to the owner of the well, Buzachi Neft, denies that a “significant amount” of methane leaked out. The operator claims that the field, at the well of which the accident occurred, has only a small supply, and most of the outgoing methane was burned, so the estimated amount might not have been released into the atmosphere.
The article also quotes the head of the UN’s International Methane Emissions Observatory, who says an unusually large leak occurred between the summer of 2023 and Christmas.
Methane pollution is now easy to identify and track using remote sensing (satellite) methods. When it gets into the air, a characteristic pattern is formed under the influence of sunlight, and the level of pollution can be estimated by scanning them.
Experts from the Technical University of Valencia also dealt with the methane leak in Kazakhstan, and came to the conclusion that only the sabotage once morest the Nord Stream pipeline caused such pollution.
As an attention-grabbing comparison, the BBC article cites the rate published by the International Energy Agency, according to which methane is responsible for regarding a third of the global temperature increase since the industrial revolution.
Environmentalists claim that not only the use of hydrocarbons, but also animal husbandry is a significant methane polluter, mainly due to the digestion of cattle. The difference in magnitude is significant, the use of fossil energy is a much larger source of pollution.
