Surge in N20: Are Fertilizers to be Blamed?

China is the world’s largest emitter of nitrous oxide (N20). Which country is the second largest emitter? Unfortunately, it’s India.

Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas. It is responsible for warming of the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is another such gas, but carbon dioxide causes much less warming than nitrous oxide. Earth System Science, About 11% of global anthropogenic emissions in 2020 actually came from India. China accounted for nearly 16%.

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According to a global assessment of nitrous oxide emissions, fertilizers are the main cause of this increase.

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In 2022, the concentration of N20 in the atmosphere reached 336 ppm. This is more than 25% higher than the level recorded before the industrial era. The concentration of CO2 was recorded at 417 ppm in 2022.

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Does this mean that the levels of CO2 are higher than nitrous oxide? Yes, CO2 levels are a thousand times higher than nitrous oxide. However, there is an interesting point here. Nitrous oxide is a greenhouse gas that stays in the atmosphere longer. In addition, nitrous oxide levels are rising very quickly. Scientists around the world have been warning about the increase in nitrous oxide and urging the world to look at this issue with the utmost urgency.

Fertilizer and Nitrogen

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N20 emissions from human activities have surged by more than 40% over the past four decades. Nitrogen fertilizers are increasingly used in agricultural production. Together with agricultural production, it accounted for more than 74% of total anthropogenic N2O emissions in the past decade. Human N2O emissions actually account for about 6.4% of the effective radiative forcing. These emissions have added more than 0.1°C to current global warming.

The five countries with the highest N20 emissions in 2020 are China, India, the United States, Brazil, and Russia. More than 16.7% of human-made N20 emissions come from China, while about 10.9% come from India. More than 5.7% of human-made N20 emissions come from the United States, while about 5.3% come from Brazil. Russia is the source of about 4.6% of these emissions.

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Source: https://dinhtienhoang.edu.vn
Category: Optical Illusion