Which country is the world’s second largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas?

India is the world’s second largest source of nitrous oxide (N2O), a greenhouse gas that heats up the atmosphere far more than carbon dioxide.

Nearly 11% of such global man-made emissions in 2020 were from India, topped only by China at 16%.

The major source of these emissions comes from fertiliser usage, according to a global assessment of N2O emissions.

N2O emissions from human activities have increased by 40% (three million metric tons of N2O per year) in the past four decades, with growth rates between 2020 and 2022 higher than in any previous period since 1980, when reliable measurements began.