Clean fuel of future could pose hidden climate risks
Atmospheric hydrogen levels have jumped 60% since pre-industrial times, now at 530 parts per billion, largely due to fossil fuel burning. This increase, revealed by new 1,100-year ice core data, indirectly warms the planet by competing with methane for hydroxyl radicals, prolonging methane's atmospheric lifetime. This effect contributes about 2% to total human-caused warming.
Atmospheric hydrogen levels have jumped 60% since pre-industrial times, now at 530 parts per billion, largely due to fossil fuel burning. This increase, revealed by new 1,100-year ice core data, indirectly warms the planet by competing with methane for hydroxyl radicals, prolonging methane's atmospheric lifetime. This effect contributes about 2% to total human-caused warming.
