Climate Half a million tons of methane released by Nord Stream leaks
The blowing up of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea in 2022 released around 465,000 tons of the greenhouse gas methane into the atmosphere. This is the result of three studies published in the journals Nature and Nature Communications.
16.01.2025, 10:28
SDA
Several blasts damaged the two gas pipelines Nord Stream 1 and 2 in September 2022. Russian natural gas had previously flowed to Germany through Nord Stream 1, whose two strings were destroyed. Although Nord Stream 2 was filled with gas, it was not yet in operation. Methane is a component of natural gas.
The explosion led to the largest known single man-made event in which methane escaped into the atmosphere. Nevertheless, according to the study, the calculated amount of methane only accounted for 0.1 percent of the methane emissions caused by humans in 2022.
Data from many sources
The researchers led by Stephen Harris from the International Methane Emissions Observatory (Imeo) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) used many sources to estimate the amount of methane, including data from the pipeline operator, measurements from ships and from satellites.
Methane (CH4) is the second largest driver of climate change after carbon dioxide (CO2). Calculated over 20 years, the greenhouse gas has around 85 times more impact on the climate than CO2.
