The Human Impacts Database

A collection of useful numbers for quantifying the impacts of the human presence on Earth.


Quantity Value HuID Source Type
Total watershed Nitrogen input from septic systems ≈ 2 × 108 kg N / yr 42569 Tuholske, Cascade; Halpern, Benjamin S.; …
Atmospheric SF6 concentration ≈ 10.7 parts per trillion 43556 NOAA ESRL Global Monitoring Laboratory
Total anthropogenic PM2.5 emissions 3.8 × (1 + 0.57)±1 × 1010 kg PM2.5 / yr 43714 European Commission, Joint Research Centre …
Mass of nitrogen needed for potato production ≈ 7 × 10-3 kg Nr / Mcal 44467 Eshel, G., Shepon, A., Makov, …
Nitrogen emissions from farmed salmon production ≈ 100 - 120 kg N/ t 44545 Gephart, J.A., et al.
N2O emissions from anthropogenic sources 1.1 (+0.6, - 0.5) × 1010 kg N2O / yr 44575 Hanqin Tian et al.
Annual production mass of steel ≈ 1.878 × 1012 kg / yr 44894 World Steel Association
Atmospheric CH4 concentration ≈ 1900 parts per billion 44953 NOAA ESRL Global Monitoring Laboratory
Ozone minimum of the Antarctic ozone hole ≈ 100 Dobson Units 51095 NASA Ozone Watch
Total anthropogenic emissions of non-CH4 volatile organic compounds 1.5 × (1 + 1.3)±1 × 1011 kg NMVOC / yr 51425 European Commission, Joint Research Centre …
Annual production mass of steel ≈ 1.900 × 1012 kg / yr 51453 United States Geological Survey
Net natural CO2 sink (2.2 ± 0.4) × 1013 kg CO2 / yr 52670 Friedlingstein, P., Jones, M. W., …
CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes (3.66 ± 0.18) × 1013 kg CO2 / yr 54608 Friedlingstein, P., Jones, M. W., …
Total anthropogenic PM10 emissions 6.2 × (1 + 1.04)±1 × 1010 kg PM10 / yr 54990 European Commission, Joint Research Centre …
Global net addition to plastics stocks (1.2 ± 0.18) × 1011 kg / yr 55989 Krausmann, F., Wiedenhofer, D., Lauk, …