Annual climate report: 7 of 16 planetary vital signs at record extremes as El Niño builds

Left · 1An international group of scientists published the latest annual "State of the Climate" report in the journal BioScience on Wednesday 14 October 2026, tracking 16 key markers, or "vital signs", of Earth's climate. 1 Left · 2Seven of the 16 indicators are in their most extreme state ever recorded, according to the report. 2 1 Left · 1Oregon State University researcher Bill Ripple, the lead author, said: "If Earth were a patient coming in for an annual physical, I would say its condition is serious and getting worse." 2

Left · 2Records include atmospheric carbon dioxide at 428 parts per million, methane at 1,940 parts per billion and nitrous oxide at 340 parts per billion, a record jump in ocean heat, and record-low Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets. 1 2 Left · 2Wired reports that carbon dioxide is 50 percent above preindustrial levels, and that warming has quickened from about 0.05 °C per decade from 1880 to 1970 to 0.36 °C per decade since 2010. Co-author Christopher Wolf said "Global warming appears to be accelerating." 2 1 Left · 1Global average temperature, including land, is not at a record extreme, but Wired says that may change by the end of the year as El Niño strengthens, and describes this year's El Niño as shaping up to be one for the record books. Ripple said a strong El Niño could temporarily push temperatures higher and bring extra heat and drought to vulnerable regions, and that it is now occurring on top of a much warmer planet. 2

Left · 1Scientific American says the report links climate change since September 2025 to floods in places including Albania, Bali, Brazil, Greece, Indonesia and Vietnam, heat waves in Europe, India and the U.S., and wildfires in Australia and Florida. 1 Left · 2The authors warn of tipping points: possible disruption of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and "irreversible" damage to the Amazon, which Wired says could shift from rainforest toward savanna, though crossing that threshold this year is highly unlikely. Wired adds that coral reefs face likely mass bleaching, with most coral unlikely to survive warming beyond 1.5 °C. 1 2 Left · 2The report also notes some encouraging signs, with carbon-free energy playing a bigger role in the power grid, which it calls an "Age of Electricity", but annual greenhouse gas emissions remain at record highs. Wolf said "The window for action is narrowing, but it has not closed," and called for rapid emissions cuts and adaptation. 2 1