India is the world’s second largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O)
Nearly 11% of such global man-made emissions in 2020 were from India, topped only by China at 16%.
The major source of these emissions comes from fertilizer usage, according to a global assessment of N2O emissions published in the journal Earth System Science Data
In 2022, the concentration of atmospheric N2O reached about 25% above the levels seen before the industrial age.
In comparison, the concentration of carbon dioxide was 417 parts per million in 2022.
This means that the current level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is a thousand times more than that of nitrous oxide, making carbon dioxide reduction the bigger priority among countries trying to contain climate change.
However, because nitrous oxide stays longer in the atmosphere and is rising rapidly, scientists in recent years have been warning that it must also be tackled with a greater sense of urgency
Agricultural production using nitrogen fertilizers, such as ammonia, and animal manure contributed 74% of the total anthropogenic N2O emissions in the last decade.
N2O emissions from human activities, responsible for 6.4% of the effective radiative forcing of greenhouse gases, have added about 0.1 degree Celsius to current global warming.
COMMENTS