One panel per indicator: year by year over the whole record, and month by month for the last two years. The daily pages show what happened on a day; this page shows where it sits in history. Updated once a day.
Are earthquakes becoming more common?
6,345earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more in 2026 so farAbout usual
Year by year, magnitude 4.5+
Year by year, magnitude 6+ (the large ones)
Quarter by quarter, magnitude 4.5+
Month by month, magnitude 4.5+
Since 2000 a typical full year has brought about 6,985 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more and about 149 of magnitude 6 or more. The count of large quakes stays broadly steady from year to year. Much of the rise in the smaller ones since the 1970s comes from better detection, so use the magnitude 6+ chart to judge whether the Earth is getting more active. 2026 is not finished, so its bar is faded.
Source: USGS earthquake catalogue. Magnitude 4.5 and above only, so counts compare fairly across the decades.
Is the Arctic sea ice shrinking?
4.8million km² in September 202636% below 1979–88
Each September, the yearly low point
Month by month against average, last 24 months
The average of the last ten Septembers is 4.6 million km², against 7.2 million in the first ten years of satellite records (1979–1988), 36% less. The lowest September in the record was 3.6 million km² in 2012. Ice shrinks to its yearly minimum in September.
Source: NSIDC Sea Ice Index, Arctic. Monthly bars show the monthly average minus the 1981–2010 average for that month.
Are the oceans getting warmer?
+1.0°C against the 20th-century average, 2026 so farWarmest on record
Year by year since 1850
Month by month, last 24 months
The three warmest years in this record are 2023, 2024, 2026. 2026 is not finished, so its bar is faded.
Source: NOAA NCEI Climate at a Glance, global ocean temperature anomaly.
What is El Niño doing?
+1.4°C, equatorial Pacific, Jun 2026El Niño conditions
Year by year since 1980
Month by month, last 24 months
Warm spells in this strip of the Pacific are El Niño and cool ones La Niña. They tend to shift weather around the world. The official three-month index (RONI) last read +1.7 for the period centred on Aug 2026. The monthly feed arrives a few weeks late.
Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center, Niño 3.4 (ERSSTv5) and the Relative Oceanic Niño Index.
How fast is carbon dioxide rising?
429.3parts per million, 2026 average so farUp 1.8 on 2025
Year by year since 1975
Month by month, last 24 months
Up about 98 parts per million since 1975. The monthly line rises and falls each year as northern forests grow and fade; the climb underneath it does not stop. Years with many missing days are left out.
Source: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
Is the sea rising?
+103mm since 1993Rising
Satellites have measured global sea level since 1993. The rise is about 3.3 mm a year on average.
Source: NOAA Laboratory for Satellite Altimetry. Our data ends at 2025-02-16.
Is the ozone hole recovering?
27.1million km², the largest so far in 2026Record: 29.9 in 2000
The hole opens each southern spring. Its yearly peak has levelled off since the 2000s and is expected to shrink slowly as ozone-damaging chemicals fade, but it varies a lot with the weather. 2026 is not finished.
Source: NASA Ozone Watch. Each bar is the largest daily area in that year.