News Climate

Plot twist in methane mystery blames chemistry, not emissions, for recent rise

Falling levels of a molecule that destroys the greenhouse gas may be behind increasing concentrations since 2007

March hydroxyl distribution

RADICAL THEORY  Changes in the concentration of a highly reactive compound in the atmosphere called hydroxyl may be to blame for a rise in global methane levels since 2007, new research suggests. Redder regions in this simulation of a typical March hydroxyl distribution contain higher concentrations of the molecule.

Angharad Stell/Univ. of Bristol

By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

A recent upsurge in planet-warming methane may not be caused by increasing emissions, as previously thought, but by methane lingering longer in the atmosphere.