Methane emissions soar as China booms

The explosive growth of the Chinese economy over the past seven years has been linked with a rise in emissions of man-made methane, a study has found.

Levels of methane in the atmosphere have risen since the Industrial Revolution but in recent years they appeared to have stabilised, leading scientists to believe that the gas may not be so critical in terms of global warming. However, the study found that the decline in methane levels seen during the 1990s was largely the result of the drying out of wetland areas due to climate change, which suppressed a major natural source of the gas.
The Independent