Video: Monitoring methane from space

Methane is the second most important greenhouse gas contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Curbing methane emissions could deliver immediate and long-lasting benefits for the climate, seeing as the gas only lingers in the atmosphere for a relatively short time.

Satellites have a really important role to play in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The Tropomi instrument onboard the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite is the only instrument that maps global methane concentrations every single day.

This lets scientists detect hotspots for large methane sources around the world—allowing us to address the consequences of methane emissions on our climate and environment.