Last Update: 04/05/2026 at 2:50 PM EST
Methane Surge Driven By Weaker Sink
Coverage from SciTechDaily, ScienceDaily, and others
Articles
6
Latest Article
03/24
Active Days
48
Executive Summary
A Science study finds early-2020s methane records were driven mainly by weaker atmospheric removal and wetter conditions that boosted natural emissions.
- Atmospheric methane rose by 55 ppb from 2019 to 2023, reaching 1921 ppb in 2023
- The fastest growth came in 2021, with a nearly 18 ppb increase
- A drop in hydroxyl radicals during 2020 to 2021 explains about 80 to 85 percent of the rise
- Pandemic-related reductions in NOx and other precursors weakened methane removal
- La Nina brought wetter tropical conditions that expanded wetlands and inland waters
- Microbial emissions from wetlands, lakes, reservoirs, and paddy rice systems increased
- Fossil fuel and biomass burning changes were small and did not drive the spike
Quick Facts
- What: Reconstructed the global methane budget and drivers of the surge
- Where: Global atmosphere with major changes in tropics and Arctic
- Why: Weaker methane removal and wetter conditions boosted microbial emissions
- Who: International researchers led by Philippe Ciais and Hanqin Tian
- When: 2019 to 2023, especially 2020 to 2022
Coverage Timeline: 48 Days
Featured Article
Scientists show global methane variability from 2019 to 2023 driven by OH changes and emissions from wetlands, agriculture, and waste management.
Additional Articles
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A February 2026 Science study on global methane trends provides climate context but includes no analysis of heat pump technologies or policies.
An international team led by LSCE scientist Philippe Ciais reported in Science that pandemic-era chemistry and climate shifts drove the 2020–2022 global methane spike.
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Researchers report a weakened hydroxyl sink and climate driven wetland emissions raised global methane levels from 2019 to 2023.
MIT researchers modeled tropospheric hydroxyl radicals with AquaChem and found a small net change in methane-oxidation capacity under a +2 C warming scenario.
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MIT modeled hydroxyl radical OH under 2 degrees Celsius warming, estimating a small net OH increase that alters methane lifetime and ozone chemistry.