Climate Facts: 99% of world population breathes unsafe air, says WHO

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargons can prove difficult to understand.

TheCable’s quick climate facts will help demystify these concepts through easy-to-understand and straight-to-the-point explanations.

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

• The World Health Organisation (WHO) says about 99 percent of the world’s population breathes unsafe air containing high levels of pollutants, with low and middle income countries suffering the highest exposures.

• According to a report by Nature journal, the world creates 57 million tonnes of plastic pollution annually, with more than two-thirds of it emanating from developing countries.

• The report identified India as the world’s leading plastic pollution nation, producing 10.2 million tonnes annually (9.3 million metric tonnes), and accounting for more than double what Nigeria and Indonesia emit. 

• The United Nations (UN) says since the beginning of the 20th century, global-mean sea level has risen rapidly. 

• The organisation said as temperatures rise, glaciers and ice sheets are melting at an alarming rate.