Everyone knows that climate change has consequences, such as a higher likelihood of severe floods, hurricanes and droughts. But here's a lesser-known problem: Climate change makes toilets more likely to break, which leaves people more likely to "go" outside.

Going to the toilet is a basic human necessity, yet more than half the world’s population uses toilets that do not treat human waste before it reenters the environment, typically into rivers.

Moreover, a 2021 report by the World Health Organization and UNICEF found that about 673 million people have no toilets at all and are forced to defecate out in the open.