The Earth RecordFriday, 2 October 2026 (UTC)

← Back to the summary for 2 Oct

The detail behind the day

The Pacific is unusually warm.

Earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more

32earthquakes on the day

Strongest first. Magnitude is a log scale: each whole step is about 32 times more energy. Depth is how far below the surface the quake began; shallow ones shake the ground harder.

Time (UTC)MagnitudeDepthWhereCountry
16:345.717 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
04:445.110 kmnear Gizo, Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands
20:545.021 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
20:275.010 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
18:255.010 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
16:315.010 kmnear Güiria, VenezuelaVenezuela
13:575.010 kmnear Inglewood, New ZealandNew Zealand
11:145.038 kmnear Panguna, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
04:275.0557 kmsouth of the Fiji IslandsOpen ocean
20:254.950 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
04:104.935 kmnear Panguna, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
15:104.810 kmnear San Nicolas, PhilippinesPhilippines
06:534.824 kmnear El Colomo, MexicoMexico
05:384.810 kmnear Tobelo, IndonesiaIndonesia
23:544.735 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
20:384.789 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
16:014.710 kmnear Korumburra, AustraliaAustralia
02:024.710 kmnear Lata, Solomon IslandsSolomon Islands
23:594.610 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
22:384.610 kmsouthern East Pacific RiseOpen ocean
21:144.635 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
20:374.675 kmnear Paratunka, RussiaRussia
20:264.687 kmnear Kokopo, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
16:574.610 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
16:024.698 kmnear Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaRussia
Show the other 7
Time (UTC)MagnitudeDepthWhereCountry
00:524.610 kmnear Bamboo Flat, IndiaIndia
20:344.550 kmnear Noda, JapanJapan
16:554.5107 kmnear Mawlaik, Burma (Myanmar)Myanmar (Burma)
16:504.510 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
15:264.510 kmnear Chalandrítsa, GreeceGreece
06:484.510 kmnear Ruteng, IndonesiaIndonesia
00:244.510 kmnorthern Mid-Atlantic RidgeOpen ocean

Where most of them struck

Russia
13 · largest 5.7
Papua New Guinea
3 · largest 5.0
Solomon Islands
2 · largest 5.1
Indonesia
2 · largest 4.8
New Zealand
1 · largest 5.0
Venezuela
1 · largest 5.0
Mexico
1 · largest 4.8
Philippines
1 · largest 4.8
Australia
1 · largest 4.7
India
1 · largest 4.6

3 more happened out at sea, away from any country’s borders.

Counting smaller ones too, 61 earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more were logged worldwide. How many small quakes are recorded depends on how many seismometers are nearby, so this number is not compared with other years.

Source: USGS Earthquake Hazards Program. Magnitudes and places can be revised by USGS for weeks after an event.

Volcanoes

32 more volcanoes on NASA’s activity tracker
AlertVolcano
NASA trackerAira Volcano, Japan
NASA trackerAmbae Volcano, Vanuatu
NASA trackerBezymianny Volcano, Russia
NASA trackerDukono Volcano, Indonesia
NASA trackerFuego Volcano, Guatemala
NASA trackerIbu Volcano, Indonesia
NASA trackerIvao Group Volcano, Russia
NASA trackerKanlaon Volcano, Philippines
NASA trackerKikai Volcano, Japan
NASA trackerKilauea Volcano, Hawaii
NASA trackerKrasheninnikov Volcano, Russia
NASA trackerLangila Volcano, Papua New Guinea
NASA trackerLewotobi Volcano, Indonesia
NASA trackerLewotolok Volcano, Indonesia
NASA trackerMarapi Volcano, Indonesia
NASA trackerMasaya Volcano, Nicaragua
NASA trackerMayon Volcano, Philippines
NASA trackerMerapi Volcano, Indonesia
NASA trackerNevados del Chillan Volcano, Chile
NASA trackerPopocatepetl Volcano, Mexico
NASA trackerPuracé Volcano, Colombia
NASA trackerReventador Volcano, Ecuador
NASA trackerRincon de la Vieja Volcano, Costa Rica
NASA trackerSabancaya Volcano, Peru
NASA trackerSangay Volcano, Ecuador
NASA trackerSanta Maria Volcano, Guatemala
NASA trackerSemeru Volcano, Indonesia
NASA trackerSheveluch Volcano, Russia
NASA trackerStromboli Volcano, Italy
NASA trackerSuwanosejima Volcano, Japan
NASA trackerTelica Volcano, Nicaragua
NASA trackerTitan Ridge Volcano, Papua New Guinea

Colour codes are the aviation scale: green is normal, yellow an advisory, orange a watch, red a warning. USGS rates US volcanoes only; the others come from NASA’s tracker of volcanoes with recent activity reports.

Sources: USGS Volcano Hazards Program, NASA EONET and USGS earthquakes for Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius.

Space weather

Kind of eventHighest level reached
Geomagnetic stormNone
Radio blackoutNone
Solar radiation stormNone

Source: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.

Climate readings

MeasureLatest valueReading dateHow it comparesSource
Pacific sea temperature (Niño 3.4)+3.2 °C against normalWeek to 30 Sep3rd highest weekly reading since 1981NOAA CPC
Arctic sea ice extent5.7 million km²2 Oct19% below the 1981–2010 average; 17th lowest of 44 years for the dateNSIDC
Antarctic sea ice extent16.7 million km²2 Oct10% below the 1981–2010 average; 1st lowest of 44 years for the dateNSIDC
Carbon dioxide, Mauna Loa425.3 ppm2 Oct1.0 ppm higher than a year earlierNOAA GML
Antarctic ozone hole25.0 million km²2 Oct6th largest for the date since 1979; thinnest part 121 Dobson unitsNASA

These move slowly, so the latest reading may be a few days old. The summary page draws each one as a chart.