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Unprecedented spike in atmospheric methane during the COVID-19 pandemic has a troubling explanation (www.livescience.com)

submitted 1 month ago by fake_meows@sopuli.xyz to c/collapse@lemmy.zip

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The increase in atmospheric methane in 2020 was actually caused principally by reduced air pollution during the pandemic.

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[–] fake_meows@sopuli.xyz 12 points 1 month ago

The study is here.

Our analysis shows that reductions in OH during the COVID-19 period (2020–2021), followed by a recovery through 2023, accounted for ~80% of the interannual variations in the CH4 growth rate. These reductions were linked to declines in NOx and CO emissions from human activities during the COVID-19 lockdowns, which temporarily weakened the oxidizing capacity of the atmosphere. When OH rebounded, the methane sink strengthened, slowing the growth rate.