Blasts and fires have reportedly occurred in a number of Dhaka structures recently. The specialists believe that the methane gas buildup caused by a supply line leak was the cause of these incidents. A layer of hazardous methane gas has also developed in Dhaka’s atmosphere, according to a recent study.
In order to compile a list of the cities with the greatest concentration of hazardous methane gas, the study examined the atmospheres of 61 cities. The ranking is headed by Karachi in Pakistan, followed by Dhaka. The study was released on March 14 in the prestigious publication Environmental Research Letters.
To study the reasons for high methane gas emissions in urban areas and the connection between untreated waste water, cities were chosen from three groups of countries: developed, developing, and less developed. The study was co-conducted by researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, St. Louis University, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, and the Netherlands Institute for Space Research.
One of the essential components of natural gas is methane. The study was prepared by analyzing satellite images obtained between 10 November 2021 and 18 September 2021 that showed the presence of methane gas in the atmosphere.
It showed that the amount of methane gas in Dhaka’s atmosphere increased by 21.1 PPB (parts per billion) in that time period. It was 22.5 PPB in Karachi in the same time period.
