Climate Facts: 30% of world’s population exposed to deadly heat waves 20 days a year

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can make it difficult to digest. TheCable’s climate quick facts will help to demystify these climate concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

Here are some to keep at the tip of your fingers:

1) Forests can provide 30 percent of the solution to keeping global warming below 2°C, according to Global Forest Watch.

2) According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the area of primary forest worldwide has decreased by over 80 million hectares since 1990.

3) Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is responsible for more than 25 percent of the warming experienced today. According to United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), methane is a powerful pollutant with a global warming potential over 80 times greater than carbon dioxide (CO2) during the 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.

4) According to UNEP, 30 percent of the world’s population is exposed to deadly heat waves more than 20 days a year.

5) To prevent global warming beyond 1.5°C, emissions need to be reduced by 7.6 percent every year until 2030, according to a 2019 UNEP report.