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Satellite Study Finds Urban Methane Emissions Far Exceed Official Estimates
Satellite data show 72 cities had enough observations to track a 6% rise since 2019, exposing a gap in official methane inventories.
- Satellite data from the European Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor show global urban methane emissions rose 6% since 2019, according to a University of Michigan Engineering study funded by NASA and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
- Methane is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, yet current accounting methods often miss leaks from natural gas infrastructure, landfills, and wastewater treatment plants. This gap explains why satellite readings exceed traditional inventories.
- Among 97 C40 cities pledged to net-zero by 2050, methane emissions in 2023 were about 10% higher than in 2020. New York remains a major contributor to North American methane emissions.
- "Cities have the motivation and power to reduce greenhouse gas emissions," said Erica Whiting, U-M doctoral student in climate and space sciences and engineering. Cities must account for nearly 2 additional teragrams of methane—about 30% of their reduction targets.
- Researchers seek higher-resolution satellite measurements to identify specific methane sources, as TROPOMI cannot pinpoint exact leaks within cities. "Those satellites can't necessarily tell you the whole city," Kort said.
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Satellites reveal city methane emissions are rising faster than official estimates
Urban emissions of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—are rising faster than bottom-up accounting estimates anticipated, according to a study led by University of Michigan Engineering. The discrepancy was found with satellite measurements of methane over 92 major cities around the world. For 72 of the cities, there were sufficient data to track changes in methane emissions between 2019 and 2023. Overall, global urban methane emissions in 2023 were …
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Total News Sources12
Leaning Left1Leaning Right0Center3Last UpdatedBias Distribution75% Center
Bias Distribution
- 75% of the sources are Center
75% Center
L 25%
C 75%
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