Thread by @washingtonpost

On Friday, June 4, an underground gas pipeline running through the ancient state of Tatarstan sprang a leak. And not a small one.

In a different era, the massive leak might have gone unnoticed.

But a European Space Agency satellite was keeping watch. wapo.st/2Z1iKba

Crews from the natural gas giant Gazprom hurried to stem the rush of methane, which was escaping into the atmosphere at a rate of approximately 395 tons an hour.

The company acknowledged the leak to media, but declined to disclose its exact location. wapo.st/2Z1iKba

A Post photographer, using satellite imagery and GPS coordinates, found a likely spot.

Nearly 500 miles east of Moscow, he saw a deep gash and tire tracks over an area half a football field in size, flanked by signs warning of underground pipelines. wapo.st/2Z1iKba

Many countries and companies have long misrepresented or simply miscounted how much fossil fuel-based methane they have let escape into the air.

New satellites devoted to locating and measuring greenhouse gases are orbiting Earth, with more on the way. wapo.st/2Z1iKba

The episode reflects a fundamental shift in climate politics and could further complicate a critical U.N. climate summit in Scotland in November, known as COP26, where world leaders will face pressure to slash greenhouse gas emissions. wapo.st/3AQOOva

In 2006, Russia told the U.N. that methane emissions going back to 1990 had been around 10 million tons per year from its oil and gas industry.

Since then, Russia has revised its numbers repeatedly, and the changes have sometimes been enormous. wapo.st/2Z1iKba

Given Russia’s sprawling oil and gas industry, climate summit watchers say persuading President Vladimir Putin to plug his nation’s leaking pipelines and dial back plans to grow natural gas exports will be important. wapo.st/2Z1iKba

(Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images)

Methane accounts for roughly a quarter of global warming since the industrial revolution, according to NASA.

Scientists say that rapidly cutting methane “is very likely to be the most powerful lever” to slow the rate of warming. wapo.st/2Z1iKba