The Human Impacts Database

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


Quantity Value HuID Source Type
Global annual energy consumption from coal ≈ 1.6 × 1020 J / yr 10400 British Petroleum
Number of installed AC units worldwide ≈ 1.6 × 109 units 10507 International Energy Agency
Annual production volume of natural gas ≈ 3.99 × 1012 m3 / yr 11468 British Petroleum
Annual energy consumed from hydropower ≈ 3.9 × 1019 J / yr 15765 U.S. Energy Information Administration
Global energy consumption from renewables ≈ 6.7 × 1019 J / yr 20246 British Petroleum
Extracted volume of natural gas ≈ 4.0 × 1012 m3 / yr 20532 U.S. Energy Information Administration
Global hydroelectric dam reservoir area ≈ 4.4 × 1011 m2 23616 FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization …
Global industrial water withdrawal ≈ 5.9 × 1011 m3 / yr 27142 FAO (Food and Agricultural Organization …
Global annual energy consumption from fossil fuels ≈ 5.4 × 1020 J / yr 29109 U.S. Energy Information Administration
Global annual energy consumption from fossil fuels ≈ 4.9 × 1020 J / yr 29470 British Petroleum
Fuel economy of light-duty vehicles in the United States ≈ 10.92 km/L 30550 United States Environmental Protection Agency
Global annual energy consumed from wind ≈ 1.7 × 1019 J / yr 30581 British Petroleum
Total global primary energy consumption ≈ 5.8 × 1020 J / yr 31373 British Petroleum
Global energy consumption from oil ≈ 2.1 × 1020 J / yr 39756 U.S. Energy Information Administration
Global annual energy consumed from oil ≈ 1.9 × 1020 J / yr 42121 British Petroleum