Do you recall hearing about fires erupting from landfills in your city? What causes these landfill fires to ignite, and why do they seem to intensify during the summer? These are not mere seasonal accidents; they are symptoms of a larger, invisible problem. While winters in North India are synonymous with smog, the hot dry summer months bring another kind of pollution: toxic gases from landfill fires. These fires release noxious smoke and greenhouse gases, with methane fueling them.

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 28 times that of CO₂ over a 100-year period, forms when organic waste decomposes in landfills. It is highly flammable, and when not burning, is also a greenhouse gas. Addressing this problem is crucial for urban waste management and combating climate change.

India generates 50 million tons of food waste annually–68 kilograms per person per year. Much of this waste ends up in landfills, where it decomposes, releasing methane. In 2022, Down to Earth’s report stated that India’s waste-related methane emissions equalled 223 million metric tons of CO₂, with waste contributing over 14% of total methane emissions (including both, waste water and waste on land) – second only to agriculture.

Over the past few decades, India’s cities have grown faster than their infrastructure, leaving waste management systems woefully inadequate. Landfills, often treated as out-of-sight-out-of-mind solutions, have become major contributors to urban pollution, climate burden, and health risks. Methane emissions from waste disposal have more than doubled since 1990, yet the issue has received limited policy attention.