Canadian scientists: There is a 10% chance that rocket debris will kill someone on Earth this decade.

Rockets are used to launch satellites and other spacecraft and often remain in orbit after launch. Most of the orbits are located in the equatorial regions - it is in these regions that debris falls uncontrollably to Earth. The risk of dying from missile debris is disproportionately higher in low-income countries near the equator, also known as the "global South". It has a higher population density, which means that approximately 80% of the world's population lives in "unprotected or weakly protected structures that provide limited protection from falling debris."