Climate Facts: Human activities raised atmosphere’s carbon content by 50% in 200 years, says NASA

The complexities of climate change and its associated jargon can be difficult to understand.

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

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

• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) says human activities have raised the atmosphere’s carbon dioxide content by 50 percent in less than 200 years.
• Carbon dioxide from human activities is increasing about 250 times faster than it did from natural sources after the last Ice Age, the organisation said.
• According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the number of days per year when temperature exceeds 35°C will increase by more than 150 days in many tropical areas by the end of the 21st century.
• The United Nations said annual climate adaptation costs in developing countries are in the range of $70 billion but could reach $300 billion by 2030.
• Universal access to early warning systems can deliver benefits up to ten times the initial cost, the organisation added.