The earth’s climate system is ‘moving deeper into unchartered territory’, with seven out of 16 tracked climate-related indicators now at ‘record extremes’, a new report has claimed.
According to the 2026 State of the Climate report, published in the BioScience journal and co-led by Dr. William J. Ripple of Oregon State University and Dr. Christopher Wolf of Terrestrial Ecosystems Research Associates, the planet’s climate system is undergoing a ‘rapid destabilisation’, with concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide all reaching record levels this year.
‘This is no longer a warning for the future; it is a diagnosis of the present,’ the authors note.
‘Consequences and causes’
The indicators tracked in the report cover greenhouse gases, temperatures, oceans, ice, the Earth’s energy balance and wildfires, alongside measures of human activity including energy use, food production and land-use change, providing what the authors say is a ‘sweeping view of Earth’s changing climate, as well as its consequences and causes’.
In May 2026, carbon dioxide levels exceeded 428 parts per million, around 50% above pre-industrial levels, the study showed. Last year, meanwhile, fossil fuel consumption increased by 0.9%, while energy-related carbon dioxide emissions exceeded 41 gigatonnes for the first time.
According to the authors, global warming appears to have accelerated in recent years, with global temperatures set to reach 2°C above pre-industrial levels before 2050. This, in turn, is leading to record-low glacier thickness and Greenland ice mass, higher sea levels, and an increase in extreme weather events.
The researchers also identify risks from climate tipping elements, including the weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the vulnerability of the Amazon rainforest, where ‘the combined effects of warming and deforestation could push it past an irreversible threshold at just 1.5°C–1.9°C of warming.’
As they note, ‘continued warming and interacting feedbacks may increase the risk of a self-reinforcing ‘hothouse’ trajectory characterised by weakening carbon sinks, accelerating ice loss, ecosystem degradation, and additional greenhouse gas release.’
Energy transition
On the positive side, the report hails ‘encouraging’ progress in the energy transition, with the authors noting that low-carbon sources accounted for around 43% of global electricity generation in 2025, while solar and wind energy consumption increased by approximately 18%.
As the authors put it, ‘the future trajectory of both the climate system and human societies has not yet been fully determined. The decisions made during the coming years will strongly influence whether future generations inherit a planet with an unstable climate system or a more resilient and sustainable world.’.
Read the full study, The 2026 state of the climate report: challenges and opportunities, here.
