Methane, Primary Cause of Heat Waves and Early Mortality-AfriTAL

Africa Initiative for Transparency and Responsibility Leadership has stated that Methane gas is still a significant cause of global warming and the heat waves that are currently occurring in some regions of the planet. 

AfriTAL made this revelation at a roundtable discussion in Port Harcourt, the capital of Rivers State, with experts and practitioners in the fields of health, the environment, and agriculture, as well as representatives of civil society organizations. The discussion was organized in association with the Stakeholders Democracy Network and the Environmental Centre for Oil Spills and Gas Flaring. 

High amounts of methane in the human body cause premature deaths and exacerbate conditions associated with asthma, according to Dr Ogbeifun Brown, Executive Director of AfriTAL and Project Coordinator for the Methane Abatement Programme. 

Brown said, “When methane is released into the atmosphere, the first thing it does is to pollute the oxygen that you and I breathe in. 

"When you take in oxygen, it goes through your lungs before it goes to every other part of the body, and one of the major effects associated with methane is premature deaths; then of course, since the air is polluted, asthma-related diseases are aggravated and that’s a cause for worry."

“So it is estimated that if we all do what we can and the government is also doing its bit, in the next 10 years, we might be able to reduce methane levels, especially from anthropogenic sources, by 45 percent and we reduce hospital visitations and also reduce the infant mortality rate, and I think that is worth advocating for so that we can have a better life for our people.” 

Brown noted that methane can trap 80 percent of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and can linger in the environment for up to 12 years.