Nord Stream pipeline explosions released 465,000 tons of methane

Recent studies revealed that the explosions that struck the Nord Stream 1 and 2 natural gas pipelines under the waters of the Baltic Sea in 2022 caused the release of about 465 thousand tons of methane gas, which in turn leads to a rise in the temperature of the planet.
The three studies published by the journals “Nature” and “Nature Communications” stated that the explosions are the largest known human-made event that leads to the leakage of methane gas into the atmosphere.

Sabotage bombings

The two lines were not operating at the time of the explosions, which were suspected to be acts of sabotage.
But the pipes were filled with compressed natural gas, one of the main components of which is methane.

Bubbles were seen rising to the sea surface above the damaged lines for several days.

The ability of methane to trap heat

Methane is second only to carbon dioxide in causing climate change.
Calculating this over 20 years, methane turns out to be about 85 times stronger than carbon dioxide in its ability to trap heat.