Flying over Madrid landfill site

Satellites are emerging as a powerful new tool in the fight to curb emissions of methane. While methane is much shorter-lived in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it is vastly more potent at trapping heat, which makes rapid cuts essential for slowing warming in the short-term. The same satellite technology that has transformed methane monitoring in the oil and gas sector is now being turned towards another major source – landfill sites.

Since spring 2025, concurrent measurements of methane emissions have been collected using ground surveys, sensor-equipped aircraft and satellites to assess a landfill site 18 km southeast of Madrid. This is a photograph of the Las Dehesas landfill site near Madrid from an aircraft.

Read full story: Satellites help tackle landfill methane leaks