自前工业时期到2003年，大气氢含量上升约70%；短暂停滞后，约在2010年前后再度攀升。1990至2020年的增量多来自人类活动，其中最大驱动是大气甲烷增加后的氧化分解：自1990年起，甲烷分解产生的氢年增量约400万吨，至2020年累积到约2700万吨。

在去除端，最近十年研究期间的排放中约70%被土壤细菌吸收，但仍有足够残留改变大气化学，并促进高空臭氧与水汽生成、影响云形成。到目前为止，氢上升自工业革命以来约贡献了0.02°C的增暖；同时当前超过90%的氢仍由煤气化或蒸汽甲烷重整生产，使「漏气控制」与「减甲烷」成为关键。

Research finds hydrogen does not trap heat directly, but it depletes atmospheric “detergent” chemistry, slowing methane removal so methane persists longer and warms more. Its indirect warming influence is estimated at about 11× CO₂ over 100 years and about 37× over the first 20 years after release.

Atmospheric hydrogen rose about 70% from preindustrial times to 2003, paused briefly, then began climbing again around 2010. From 1990 to 2020, most of the increase came from human activity, driven mainly by oxidation of rising atmospheric methane: since 1990, hydrogen produced via methane decomposition grew by roughly 4 million tons per year, reaching about 27 million tons by 2020.

On the sink side, about 70% of emissions in the last decade studied were absorbed by soil bacteria, yet enough remains to shift chemistry and add warming via ozone and high-altitude water vapor, with potential cloud effects. So far, rising hydrogen has added about 0.02°C since the Industrial Revolution; meanwhile, over 90% of today’s hydrogen is still made via coal gasification or steam methane reforming, making leak control and methane cuts central.