Megafires' Methane Emissions Raise Pollution Policy Questions.

A new detection method used by UC Riverside scientists found that wildfires emit a massive amount of methane, a super-potent greenhouse gas, which is not currently being accounted for by state air quality managers. Methane warms the planet 86 times more powerfully than carbon dioxide over the course of 20 years, and it will be difficult for the state to reach its required cleaner air and climate goals without accounting for this source. The state does not track natural sources of methane, like those that come from wildfires, but for 2020, wildfires would have been the third biggest source of methane in the state.