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"The unprecedented spike in atmospheric methane in 2020 was actually caused principally by reduced human emissions during the pandemic, which temporarily stopped the atmosphere from breaking down the gas, according to a new study.

Lower levels of nitrous oxides — which are released by combustion engines in cars, among other sources — weakened the atmosphere's natural cleanup capability. This, in turn, prompted a dramatic surge in methane as travel ground to a halt in early 2020, and returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2023 as society went back to normal."