Methane is a very potent green house gas. It is converted to carbon di

Methane is a very potent green house gas. It is converted to carbon dioxide to ease its overall effect on global warming. This process is known as :

Blocking
Ceiling
Flaring
Stooping
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CAPF – 2014
The correct answer is Flaring.
Methane is a potent greenhouse gas. Methane flaring is a process where methane (typically waste gas like natural gas from oil/gas extraction, landfills, or wastewater treatment) is burned. Burning methane converts it primarily into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor. While CO2 is also a greenhouse gas, methane has a much higher global warming potential (GWP) than CO2 over relevant time scales (e.g., GWP of methane is about 25-28 times that of CO2 over 100 years). Therefore, converting methane to CO2 through flaring reduces the overall warming impact compared to releasing the same amount of methane into the atmosphere.
Flaring is a common practice to dispose of unwanted methane, especially when it’s not economically viable to capture and utilize it. While flaring reduces the GWP compared to venting methane, it still produces CO2, which contributes to global warming. Alternatives include capturing methane for use as fuel or converting it to other chemicals.