Handling methane gas emission

By making data the backbone of our waste policy, we can turn one of our biggest environmental challenges into our smartest climate solution

What fuels landfill fires and is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period?

The answer is methane

While it is an excellent fuel for

kitchen stoves,
CNG vehicles,
power plants,
it is also busy burning the planet.

Methane is generated

naturally by decomposing organic matter. The same prehistoric processes that created natural gas reserves are now at work within landfills.

Managing methane -

means not just cleaner cities but also a significant step toward our climate ambitions.

Launched by UNEP and CCAC to Significantly Reduce Methane emissions in the Oil and Gas Sector by 2030.

India

National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA)
Gobar (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources) –Dhan’ scheme
New National Biogas and Organic Manure Programme

Targeted action / identification of methe gas emission

is only possible if we know exactly where the hotspots are, but tracking an invisible gas is difficult.

HOW CAN IDENTIFY METHANE GAS EMISSION ?

1 in past estimated emissions -

by tracking

incoming waste volumes
and applying baseline assumptions.

2 The alternative is physical monitoring

which is even more challenging in the Indian context. Ground-level detection requires

expensive equipment,
regular maintenance,
constant oversight,
making it logistically and technically difficult to scale.

3 HELP OF satellites

two categories:

regional measurements that monitor methane over a few kilometers (frequent and useful for national trends),

fine-resolution detection that

can pinpoint hotspots down to a few square meters (critical for targeted action).

Satellite data

ISRO DATA

quantified anthropogenic methane emissions across the country using satellite data that was acquired in 2023.

study identified major dumpsites in

Pirana (Ahmedabad),
Deonar and Kanjurmarg (Mumbai),
and a sewage outlet as significant emitters.

The National Green Tribunal

took these findings further, establishing a committee to conduct ground investigations at the flagged sites.

multiple new satellite missions have emerged

such as CarbonMapper's Tanager and the Space Research Organisation Netherlands (SRON) projects.

These satellites provide public data covering major landfills across the country, including

Ghazipur and Okhla in Delhi,
Jawaharnagar in Hyderabad,
and Dhapa in Kolkata.

Platforms such as ClimateTRACE and WasteMap

this is global monitoring data, combining it with baseline statistics for advanced modeling.

Satellite vs model-based predictions

Globally, satellite surveys estimate that actual landfill emissions can exceed model-based predictions by around 1.8 times.

In India, city-level comparisons

are difficult due to a lack of granular data on waste characteristics.

Consequently, we must rely on State-level estimates from 2018 for sector-wise breakdowns, as newer public data have not yet been compiled.

satellite observations and older State models

highlights a critical information gap: we currently cannot agree on the true scale of the numbers or the location of the hotspots.

Differing data

Take Delhi as an example:

its 2018 emissions inventory estimates 1.07 million tons of CO₂ equivalent annually from the entire solid waste sector.

Recent satellite observations

however, estimate emissions from just Ghazipur and Bhalswa alone to be between 0.85 and 0.96 million tons — almost as much as the sector's entire theoretical footprint.

In Mumbai

the data offer a different perspective.

Kanjurmarg landfill

While calculations suggest that the Kanjurmarg landfill accounts for 11% of the city’s waste emissions, an expected number given its engineered design.

However, satellite data show it to be emitting 1.05 million tons.

This is almost 10 times the model’s estimate and approximately half of the entire State’s solid waste emissions.

Ahmedabad:

while Gujarat estimates 0.73 million tons for the entire sector,

Pirana landfill

satellite observations show the Pirana landfill alone emitting between 0.60 and 0.81 million tons.

linking satellite detection with ground-level action

Of course, these observations come with limitations. Cloud interference and complex weather dynamics mean that satellite data cannot fulfil its potential in isolation.

Urban local bodies must complement these findings with ground-level insights.

Feedback loop

What we should do ?

When satellites detect a methane hotspot, ground teams can immediately investigate the cause —

whether it is poor waste coverage,
a gas collection failure,
or illegal dumping.

At open dumpsites Ghazipur

recording dumping and reclamation patterns provides critical insight into how human activity drives methane generation.

Jawaharnagar and Kanjurmarg

Meanwhile, at engineered landfills such as Jawaharnagar and Kanjurmarg, infrastructure data on existing gas collection systems can help pinpoint leaks and identify hidden hotspots.

Cities such as Bengaluru

with their advanced waste management systems, are well-positioned to integrate these datasets to increase transparency.

To address this

we need coordinated action on three critical fronts:

expanding satellite monitoring to cover all major waste sites,
establishing on-ground validation systems in metro cities, and
creating standardised data-sharing protocols between urban local bodies and oversight agencies.

State Pollution Control Boards and urban local bodies

Currently, urban local bodies operate in silos, separate from the State Pollution Control Boards that oversee them.

This disconnect hinders coordinated action on methane reduction.

centralised data portal

for bulk

waste management,
handling the wet waste that is the primary source of untreated methane.

This portal could be expanded to connect with a standardised nationwide dataset for tracking emissions.

(CAQM) and Swachh bharat Mission

Regional bodies such as the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) in the NCR can oversee this monitoring

Swachh Bharat Mission can integrate methane targets, aligning them with other central schemes.

Methane’s potential as a fuel

it is already recognised in policy.

Just recently, Indore has utilised the Gobardhan scheme to set up a Bio-CNG plant from its waste.

This strategy creates a powerful ecosystem:

satellites detect hotspots, ground teams investigate and fix leaks, and standardised data sharing ensures insights reach decision-makers instantly.

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