People in tropics could see changes in weather extremes in 20 years: Study

People in the tropics and subtropics that makes up about three-fourth of the world's population, could experience strong, rapid changes in both extreme temperatures and rainfall over the next 20 years, unless greenhouse gas emissions -- the primary driver of climate change -- are reduced dramatically, a new study has found.

On the other hand, if emissions are lowered enough to meet the goals outlined in the Paris Agreement, then 20 per cent of the world's population, or around 1.5 billion people, could face risks related to extreme weather, researchers, led by those at the CICERO Center for International Climate Research, Norway, found.

The Paris Agreement aims to limit the rise in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

"The regions of clear rapid change in extreme precipitation relative to pre-industrial trends tend to include the mid to high northern latitudes, low-latitude (tropical) Asian countries and equatorial African countries," the ..