India’s rice fields rank among world’s top methane sources
A Nature Food study synthesis estimates that greenhouse-gas emissions from global paddy (rice) fields have more than doubled since the 1960s, with eastern India flagged as a methane hotspot.
GS3GS2The HinduGS3Agriculture emissionsMethane (CH4) from paddyClimate change mitigation
What happened: paddy methane-linked emissions rise sharply since the 1960s
A Nature Food study synthesis estimates that greenhouse-gas emissions from paddy (rice) fields have more than doubled since the 1960s. For 2011–2020, global paddy fields are estimated to emit about 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2-equivalent annually. The synthesis links the increase to carbon losses in soil or organic matter and to methane emissions driven by flooded, low-oxygen rice soils.
What changed now: future emissions are projected to rise further
The synthesis reports projections of further increases in paddy emissions from 2031 to 2050, attributing the rise to warming, erratic rainfall, and heavier agricultural inputs.
