Gas stoves are even worse for the climate than previously thought, study shows

Gas stoves are contributing more to global warming than previously thought because they constantly leak small amounts of methane even while they're off, a new study has found.

The same study also found that home stoves can emit high levels of nitrogen oxides, raising concerns about health and indoor air quality.

Even when they are not running, U.S. gas stoves are putting 2.6 million tons (2.4 million metric tons) of methane — in carbon dioxide equivalent units — into the air each year, a team of California researchers found in a study published in Thursday's journal Environmental Science & Technology. That's equivalent to the annual amount of greenhouse gases from 500,000 cars or what the U.S. puts into the air every three-and-a-half hours.