Climate change pushed Earth to its limits in 2026 as certain “vital signs” reach record extremes, report says

October 14, 2026 / 3:27 PM EDT / CBS News

Climate change pushed the Earth's environmental system to, and perhaps beyond, its limits in 2026, as several of its "vital signs" reached record extremes, researchers said in a new report on the state of the global climate.

Of the 16 climate markers that researchers consider integral measures of how the Earth is doing, seven are currently at record extremes, while multiple others show evidence of accelerating or abruptly shifting, the report published Wednesday in the peer-reviewed journal BioScience said.

The markers include greenhouse gases, temperature, glacier mass, oceans, wildfires and the planet's energy imbalance, which refers to the difference between the amount of energy the Earth absorbs and the amount it radiates back out into the atmosphere.

Researchers warned in the report that the planet's climate "is moving deeper into uncharted territory."

"Earth's life-support systems are being pushed beyond stable limits, with changes unfolding faster than our ability to respond," the report said. "Across the globe, extreme heat, floods, droughts, storms, and wildfires are no longer rare events but defining features of a changing planet."

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Original source: https://www.cbsnews.com/world/