Revealed: the 1,200 big methane leaks from waste dumps trashing the planet

Pakistan , India and Bangladesh lead the list of nations with the most large leaks, followed by Argentina , Uzbekistan and Spain .

Methane traps 86 times more heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over 20 years .

Decomposing waste is responsible for about 20% of human-caused methane emissions.

Scientists fear it is the biggest threat to keeping below 1.5C of global heating.

Super-emitter events were also spotted by the satellites in Madrid , Spain , with 17 leaks since 2021 , and four major leaks in the first half of 2023 .

Argentina is an exception, with 100 events from waste sites in the capital, Buenos Aires , since 2019 .

The worst was in August 2020 when 230 tonnes an hour emitted, equivalent to running 36 m cars.

Large leaks at the Las Dehesas site would have been detected and that all the plants met all environmental regulations.

Detecting methane super-emitters with satellites is more difficult in tropical regions.

Smaller but longer-lasting leaks from waste sites will also release large amounts of methane into the atmosphere.