Greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide also play a role in regulating Earth's climate. The atmospheric concentration of many of these greenhouse gases is also influenced by human activity. Some greenhouse gases such as CFCs do not occur naturally and are entirely the result of human activity.

Methane is another important greenhouse gas. The atmospheric concentration of this gas has increased due to land use changes. Methane is naturally produced by microorganisms during the anaerobic decomposition of plant material, which occurs in water-logged areas and in the guts of ruminant animals.

Over the past 250 years the concentration of methane in the atmosphere has increased from 0.7 to 1.7 ppm. This increase coincides with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, which suggests that the increase in atmospheric methane is due to human activity. Humans produce large amounts of methane by burning biomass, extracting and distributing natural gas, and increasing suitable areas for anaerobic decomposition, such as rice paddies and landfills.

While current methane concentrations are directly measured through chromatographic and spectroscopic analysis of air samples, historical concentrations of methane have been determined by analyzing methane bubbles trapped in ice cores.