The Earth RecordTuesday, 13 October 2026 (UTC)

← Back to the summary for 13 Oct

The detail behind the day

The equatorial Pacific is the warmest on record.

Earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more

23earthquakes 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
12:236.810 kmcentral Mid-Atlantic RidgeOpen ocean
05:446.710 kmcentral Mid-Atlantic RidgeOpen ocean
18:456.021 kmnear Kokopo, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
14:365.330 kmnear Kokopo, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
08:385.310 kmsouthern Mid-Atlantic RidgeOpen ocean
16:285.137 kmnear Kokopo, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
04:005.110 kmnear Gambiran Satu, IndonesiaIndonesia
12:054.910 kmnear Vilyuchinsk, RussiaRussia
21:244.8162 kmnear Cepitá, ColombiaColombia
15:214.866 kmnear Sarangani, PhilippinesPhilippines
09:414.710 kmnear Boshkengash, TajikistanTajikistan
06:394.710 kmnear Río Grande, PanamaPanama
06:014.710 kmnear Pagudpud, PhilippinesPhilippines
02:484.710 kmnear La Mesa, PanamaPanama
21:474.610 kmnear Kokopo, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
08:154.610 kmnear Bayan Hot, ChinaChina
00:024.610 kmnear Río Grande, PanamaPanama
21:104.510 kmnear Kokopo, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
21:074.510 kmwestern Indian-Antarctic RidgeOpen ocean
12:514.510 kmnear Zapotillo, PanamaPanama
09:484.535 kmnear Tambolaka, IndonesiaIndonesia
02:164.5140 kmSouth Sandwich Islands regionOpen ocean
00:014.5110 kmSouth Sandwich Islands regionOpen ocean

Where most of them struck

Papua New Guinea
5 · largest 6.0
Panama
4 · largest 4.7
Indonesia
2 · largest 5.1
Philippines
2 · largest 4.8
Russia
1 · largest 4.9
Colombia
1 · largest 4.8
Tajikistan
1 · largest 4.7
China
1 · largest 4.6

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

Counting smaller ones too, 53 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)+3.3 °C against normalWeek to 7 Oct1st highest weekly reading since 1981NOAA CPC
Arctic sea ice extent6.3 million km²13 Oct22% below the 1981–2010 average; 13th lowest of 44 years for the dateNSIDC
Antarctic sea ice extent16.4 million km²13 Oct10% below the 1981–2010 average; 2nd lowest of 44 years for the dateNSIDC
Carbon dioxide, Mauna Loa427.0 ppm13 Oct2.3 ppm higher than a year earlierNOAA GML
Antarctic ozone hole25.4 million km²13 Oct2nd largest for the date since 1979; thinnest part 120 Dobson unitsNASA

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