The Earth RecordThursday, 29 October 2026 (UTC)

← Back to the summary for 29 Oct

The detail behind the day

Tropical Cyclone ARNAB-26 is a major storm.

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
07:496.410 kmsoutheast of Easter IslandOpen ocean
21:466.2143 kmnear Port-Olry, VanuatuVanuatu
03:195.810 kmnear Barcelona, PhilippinesPhilippines
03:265.710 kmnear Kiunga, Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
07:315.410 kmnear Barcelona, PhilippinesPhilippines
05:065.49 kmSouth Sandwich Islands regionOpen ocean
03:175.410 kmnear Barcelona, PhilippinesPhilippines
00:085.410 kmnear Luganville, VanuatuVanuatu
08:495.110 kmnear Bamboo Flat, IndiaIndia
05:335.110 kmBalleny Islands regionOpen ocean
20:325.010 kmnear Tual, IndonesiaIndonesia
20:145.016 kmnear False Pass, AlaskaUnited States
10:334.910 kmnear Port-Vila, VanuatuVanuatu
00:574.910 kmnear Port-Olry, VanuatuVanuatu
02:184.870 kmnear Merizo Village, GuamGuam
01:074.810 kmwestern Indian-Antarctic RidgeOpen ocean
21:004.75 kmnear Radwanice, PolandPoland
13:424.710 kmnear Pitaloza Arriba, PanamaPanama
23:044.610 kmnear Port-Vila, VanuatuVanuatu
21:124.635 kmnear Shikotan, RussiaRussia
11:384.610 kmPulau Pulau Tanimbar, IndonesiaIndonesia
07:544.610 kmnear Mosteiros, PortugalPortugal
17:374.535 kmnear Miyako, JapanJapan

Where most of them struck

Vanuatu
5 · largest 6.2
Philippines
3 · largest 5.8
Indonesia
2 · largest 5.0
Papua New Guinea
1 · largest 5.7
India
1 · largest 5.1
United States
1 · largest 5.0
Guam
1 · largest 4.8
Panama
1 · largest 4.7
Poland
1 · largest 4.7
Portugal
1 · largest 4.6

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

Counting smaller ones too, 43 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.USGS catalogue

Tropical storms and cyclones

AlertStormReported intensity
RedTropical Cyclone ARNAB-26 (India) GDACS reportTropical Storm (maximum wind speed of 222 km/h)
NASA trackerHurricane Vance25 kts
NASA trackerSuper Typhoon Champi35 kts
NASA trackerSuper Typhoon In-fa125 kts
NASA trackerTropical Cyclone Agueda30 kts
NASA trackerTropical Cyclone Arnab55 kts
GreenTropical Cyclone IN-FA-26 (Marshall Islands) GDACS reportHurricane/Typhoon > 74 mph (maximum wind speed of 241 km/h)
GreenTropical Cyclone THREE-C-26 GDACS reportTropical Depression (maximum wind speed of 65 km/h)
GreenTropical Cyclone VANCE-26 (México) GDACS reportTropical Depression (maximum wind speed of 139 km/h)
NASA trackerTropical Storm Olana25 kts

The alert colour reflects the likely effect on people, not just wind speed. Red is the highest; green is a storm with little expected impact.

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

Volcanoes

AlertVolcano
OrangeGreat Sitkin: alert level watch Official notice
YellowAhyi Seamount: alert level advisory Official notice
YellowKilauea: alert level advisory Official notice
YellowShishaldin: alert level advisory Official notice
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.USGS volcano notices · NASA EONET

Floods, weather warnings and other events

England: flood warnings and alerts

0severe1warning4alerts
LevelArea
WarningKeswick Campsite

A flood warning means flooding is expected; an alert means it is possible. Alerts are counted but not listed one by one.

United States: severe and extreme warnings

HazardSevereExtreme
Flood360
Wind250
Winter weather60
Thunderstorm and hail50
Tornado04
Other30

Each figure is the peak number of warnings in force at once in a state, added across states. It shows scale, not an exact count of separate events.

Extreme-level warnings:

Warning
Tornado Warning: Kinney, TX
Tornado Warning: Kinney, TX
Tornado Warning: Kinney, TX; Uvalde, TX
Tornado Watch: Anoka, MN; Chisago, MN; Dakota, MN; Goodhue, MN; Hennepin, MN; Ramsey, MN; Rice, MN; Scott, MN; Washington, MN; Barron, WI; Chippewa, WI; Dunn, WI; Eau Claire, WI; Pepin, WI; Pierce, WI
Tornado Watch: Barron, WI; Chippewa, WI; Dunn, WI; Eau Claire, WI; Pepin, WI; Pierce, WI; Rusk, WI; St. Croix, WI
Tornado Watch: Barron, WI; Chippewa, WI; Dunn, WI; Eau Claire, WI; Pepin, WI; Pierce, WI; Rusk, WI; St. Croix, WI
Tornado Watch: Sawyer, WI; Washburn, WI

NASA’s tracker lists 7,163 open wildfires worldwide. They are counted, not listed.

Sources: Environment Agency flood warnings (Open Government Licence v3.0), US National Weather Service, NASA EONET.Environment Agency data · NWS alerts · NASA EONET

Space weather

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

The planetary Kp index reached 2.3 on this day; 5 or more is a geomagnetic storm.

Highest Kp each day: 23 Oct 4.3 · 24 Oct 2.0 · 25 Oct 2.0 · 26 Oct 2.0 · 27 Oct 2.7 · 28 Oct 2.3 · 29 Oct 2.3

Source: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.NOAA space weather

Climate readings

MeasureLatest valueReading dateHow it comparesSource
Pacific sea temperature (Niño 3.4)+3.4 °C against normalWeek to 21 Oct1st highest weekly reading since 1981NOAA CPC
Arctic sea ice extent7.7 million km²28 Oct18% below the 1981–2010 average; 7th lowest of 45 years for the dateNSIDC
Antarctic sea ice extent16.0 million km²28 Oct9% below the 1981–2010 average; 2nd lowest of 45 years for the dateNSIDC
Carbon dioxide, Mauna Loa427.3 ppm28 Oct2.0 ppm higher than a year earlierNOAA GML
Antarctic ozone hole21.1 million km²27 Oct8th largest for the date since 1979; thinnest part 139 Dobson unitsNASA

These move slowly, so the latest reading may be a few days old. The summary page draws each one as a chart.NOAA ENSO data · NSIDC Sea Ice Index · NOAA CO₂ data · NASA Ozone Watch