Although we've known about the natural gas leak in Los Angeles for a couple of months now, new aerial footage shows just how bad it is. With billowing clouds of greenhouse gases filling the air, the leak's scale is being compared to that of the BP oil spill in 2010.
The impact on the climate is the equivalent of driving 7 million cars per day, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. For reference, LA County has about 6.2 million registered cars, as Quartz points out. The Defense Fund has a running ticker showing the leak's real time impact, seen below.
Southern California Gas recently identified the root of the methane leak at its Aliso Canyon facility near Porter Ranch in the San Fernando Valley, but is far from being able to stop it. Quartz reports that the process of digging down to stop the root of the problem could take until late March.
So far more than 2,000 families have relocated after reportedly getting sick from the fumes.
