Two Indian landfills join the world’s 25 most polluting methane-emitting landfills

Hyderabad’s Jawahar Nagar landfill and Mumbai’s Kanjurmarg landfill are among the top 25 super-polluting methane-emitting waste disposal sites in the world, according to a new study by the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).The study ranked 25 waste treatment facilities in 18 countries with the highest methane emission rates, ranging from 3.6 tons to 7.6 tons of methane per hour, detected by major satellites from space in 2025.To put things in perspective, UCLA’s Stop Methane Project reports that a methane source emitting 5 tons (5,000 kilograms) of methane per hour contributes as much to global warming as 1 million SUVs.Methane is a powerful heat-trapping gas that is 86 times more deadly than carbon dioxide and is responsible for more than 45% of recent global warming.The study ranked Hyderabad’s integrated municipal solid waste management project at the Jawahar Nagar landfill in fourth place with emissions of 5.9 tonnes per hour, the Mumbai project in 12th place with emissions of 4.9 tonnes per hour, and the Campo de Meo landfill in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province at the top of the list of 25 suspects, with emissions of 7.6 tonnes per hour.These landfills are found in developed and developing countries of all income levels and in all regions of the world, including three landfills each in Brazil and Chile; two each in India, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey; and one each in Algeria, Argentina, Greece, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Thailand, and the United States.“We have seen how providing reliable data to a larger audience and increasing visibility can be an effective way to spur action,” said Juan Pablo Escudero, a UCLA STOP Macet project partner and a professor at the Adolfo Ibáñez University School of Law in Santiago, Chile.“This data provides an excellent opportunity for responsible operators and national governments to take the lead in cleaning up the waste sector,” he said.“Researchers from UCLA’s STOP Methane Project analyzed data from nearly 3,000 plumes from more than 700 waste sites around the world to identify the top 25 waste sites worldwide,” the report states.