The Earth RecordThursday, 29 October 2026 (UTC)

Tropical Cyclone ARNAB-26 is a major storm

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Are there any dangerous storms?

2major storms
Red alertTropical Cyclone ARNAB-26 (India) · 222 km/h winds
Hurricane strengthSuper Typhoon In-fa · 125 kts winds

An alert colour reflects the likely effect on people, not just wind speed: red is the highest. 6 weaker tropical storms are also active. Follow your local authorities if you are in the affected area.

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Sources: Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System (GDACS) and NASA EONET. Alert colours are indicative. GDACS reports · NASA EONET

Is the Pacific running hot?

+3.4°C against normalWarmest week on record
-10+1+2+3+4Oct 2025Oct 2026

Sea temperature in the key strip of the equatorial Pacific is above normal. That pattern is known as El Niño, and it tends to shift weather patterns around the world and push global temperatures up.

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Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center, weekly Niño 3.4 temperature to 21 Oct. The official three-month index (RONI) reads +1.7 for the period centred on Aug 2026. NOAA ENSO data · NOAA ocean series

Are any volcanoes restless?

4US volcanoes above normal alert
orangeGreat Sitkin · watch
yellowShishaldin · advisory
yellowKilauea · advisory
yellowAhyi Seamount · advisory

Colour codes are the aviation scale: green is normal, yellow an advisory, orange a watch, red a warning. NASA's event tracker lists 36 volcanoes worldwide with recent activity reports.

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Sources: USGS Volcano Hazards Program (US volcanoes only), NASA EONET, and USGS earthquakes for Campi Flegrei and Vesuvius. USGS volcano notices · NASA EONET

Were there any big earthquakes?

23earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more on the dayAbout normal
M6.4southeast of Easter Island

About 20 earthquakes this size happen somewhere in the world on a typical day. The strongest, magnitude 6.4, struck at 07:49 UTC, southeast of Easter Island.

Busier or quieter than usual, last 90 days

Indonesia
2.0× usual
Russia
1.6× usual
Philippines
1.5× usual
Tonga
0.9× usual
Japan
0.9× usual
Papua New Guinea
0.8× usual
Chile
0.7× usual

Worldwide the last 90 days brought 2,150 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more, 32% above the 1996–2025 average for 90 days. The marker on each bar is that country's own average.

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Source: USGS. Larger dots are stronger; faint dots are the previous six days. Magnitude 4.5+ only, so counts compare fairly across the decades. USGS catalogue

How much Arctic sea ice is there?

7.7million km²18% below average
051019792020 (lowest)2026

That is 7th lowest of 45 years for this date. In the 1980s there was about 9.8 million km² of ice at this time of year. The lowest on record for the date was 6.3 million, in 2020.

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Source: NSIDC Sea Ice Index, 28 Oct. One bar per year for the same date. Average is 1981–2010. NSIDC Sea Ice Index

Is the Sun causing trouble?

QuietNo storm
0369storm level23 Oct24 Oct25 Oct26 Oct27 Oct28 Oct29 Oct

Nothing is expected to affect phones, GPS or the power grid today.

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Source: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Bars show each day's highest Kp; 5 or more is a geomagnetic storm. NOAA space weather

Is the air changing?

427.3parts per million of CO₂Up 2.0 in a year
1974
333.5
2025
425.3
2026
427.3

Carbon dioxide measured on Mauna Loa, Hawaii, in Oct 2026, against 333.5 in 1974.

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Source: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory. The Mauna Loa series is the longest continuous record of carbon dioxide in the air. NOAA CO₂ data

How big is the ozone hole?

21.1million km²8th largest for the date

The Antarctic ozone hole forms each southern spring. The thinnest part of the layer measures 139 Dobson units; a healthy layer reads about 300.

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Source: NASA Ozone Watch, 27 Oct. Records begin in 1979. NASA Ozone Watch

Is flooding likely in England?

1flood warning4flood alerts
WarningKeswick Campsite

In the United States, 4 extreme-level weather alerts are in force.

A flood warning means flooding is expected; a flood alert means it is possible. Check your own area with the Environment Agency.

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Sources: Environment Agency flood warnings (Open Government Licence v3.0); US National Weather Service. Counts are warnings in force when the page was last updated. Environment Agency data · NWS alerts