Emergence of new small lakes contributes to rise in greenhouse gas emissions

Just under half of the total lakes globally are in the top of the northern hemisphere, including the likes of Scandinavia, Alaska, Russia, and Greenland. File photo: Anthony Devlin/PA Wire

A proliferation of new small lakes has emerged across the planet in recent decades, bringing a new source of unwanted greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found.

Scientists from a number of universities undertook a global survey of 3.4 million lakes, finding that the number of new lakes has "increased substantially" in almost 40 years, with a surface expansion equal to the size of Denmark, or 46,000 sq km.