The rising levels of methane gas have the potential to add to patients’ misery

At a time when COVID-19-induced patient load is overwhelming, it is critical to ensure that factors such as climate change do not add to the disease burden. In these trying times climate change made worse by rising methane levels has the potential to add to the health miseries unless urgent mitigatory measures are applied. The global methane emissions too are anything but under control as per a report by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

The UNEP report has underlined the urgent need to reduce the human-caused global methane emissions especially from the agricultural sector with its livestock emissions from enteric and manure fermentationcontributing up to 32 per cent of global methane emissions. Even though the carbon dioxide levels dropped during the coronavirus pandemic,however, the same did not happen with methane as the concentration in the atmosphere reached record levels last year, according to the data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This is worrisome as methane being an extremely powerful greenhouse gas is responsible for about 30 per cent of global warming.

The UNEP report calls for cutting down methane emissions by 45 per cent to avoid worst consequences.If achieved it would prevent a rise in global warming by up to 0.3 degrees Celsius by 2045. Besides, it will help prevent 2,60,000 premature deaths, 7,75,000 asthma-related hospital visits annually, and 25 million tonnes of crop losses. In India, the agri sector contributes to nearly 47 per cent of the anthropogenic methane emissions.

The European Commission for instance had adopted the European Union Methane Strategy in October 2020 which has outlined measures to cut methane emissions in Europe and internationally.India has the potential to reduce methane emissions in the agriculture, waste and energy sectors.

India must begin by addressing the losses and waste in the food sector. A UN report pegged domestic food waste in India at 68.7 million tonnes annually. This waste releases immense quantities of methane. Implementing behavioural change methods can help reduce waste and diverting the waste towards energy generation can help reduce methane emissions. Improvement in livestock management, encouraging adoption of health diets focused on vegetarian can reduce methane emissions by 65-80 million tonnes per year and help script a low methane emissions future for India.In the agriculture sector the adoption of zero tillage practice, coupled with efficient use of fertilisers and better management of water in rice crops can go a long way in gaining control over the carbon footprint of the agriculture sector.

These measures are excellent ways to get a handle on the runaway methane levels in India.However, the government must not fritter away the precious progress made through these measures. One such activity is the continuing usage of coal in India. The government must urgently look towards dialling down coal usage and lend scalability to alternative sources of energy. This must be combined with reducing the mining activities and closing the abandoned coal mines effectively so that they do not keep leaking methane.

Rising methane emissions can have disastrous consequences for human's and environment alike. India must rein in the emissions before they assume unmanageable levels.

(The author is an environmental journalist. The views expressed are personal.)