California the culprit for spike in little-known greenhouse gas more potent than CO2

State revealed as America’s overwhelming emitter of sulfuryl fluoride, used by $4.2bn pest-control industry to kill termites

Levels of a potent greenhouse gas are quietly spiking in the atmosphere and increasingly worrying environmental groups that say its use needs to be reined in if the US is to avoid climate catastrophe.

Furthermore, recent research has found the vast majority of the little-known gas, known as sulfuryl fluoride, is attributable to a state typically known for its climate-forward policies: California.