--- title: California Gas Leak: How Much It's Hurting the Planet description: The daily global warming impact is the same as driving 4.5 million cars canonical: https://time.com/4180692/california-methane-gas-leak-environment/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-14T17:07:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:50:33.123Z article:section: U.S. og:title: This Is How Much the California Gas Leak Is Hurting the Planet og:description: The daily global warming impact is the same as driving 4.5 million cars og:url: https://time.com/4180692/california-methane-gas-leak-environment/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Is How Much the California Gas Leak Is Hurting the Planet twitter:description: The daily global warming impact is the same as driving 4.5 million cars twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Is How Much the California Gas Leak Is Hurting the Planet by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/) and [Heather Jones](/author/heather-jones/) Jan 14, 2016 5:07 PM CUT by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/) and [Heather Jones](/author/heather-jones/) Jan 14, 2016 5:07 PM CUT A [gas leak ](http://time.com/4173516/california-gas-leak-resident-reaction/ "undefined")deep under Los Angeles has been spewing 1.6 million lbs. of methane each day, with [no immediate end in sight](http://time.com/4170288/los-angeles-emergency-gas-leak/ "undefined"). The months-long leak in Porter Ranch is already the [worst in California’s history](http://time.com/4149170/california-natural-gas-methane-leak/ "undefined"), and environmental advocates fear it could have a long-term impact on the climate. While methane does not stay in the atmosphere for as long as carbon dioxide, it traps radiation more effectively, making it a significant contributor to global warming. To put the size of the methane leak in perspective, see how it compares to other causes of climate change:  ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4180692/california-methane-gas-leak-environment/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4180692/california-methane-gas-leak-environment/"},"headline":"This Is How Much the California Gas Leak Is Hurting the Planet","datePublished":"2016-01-14T17:07:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:33.123Z","description":"The daily global warming impact is the same as driving 4.5 million cars","url":"https://time.com/4180692/california-methane-gas-leak-environment/","keywords":["Environment"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Heather Jones","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/heather-jones/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4180692/california-methane-gas-leak-environment/","name":"This Is How Much the California Gas Leak Is Hurting the Planet"}}]}] ```