Design Principles
Raw numbers only
No composite scores, no weighted indices. Every figure displayed is a direct measurement or anomaly from a primary scientific dataset.
Source transparency
Every metric links directly to its originating agency and dataset. You can verify every number independently.
No editorial framing
Values are shown with scientific context — baselines, units, measurement cadence — not characterised as good, bad, alarming, or reassuring.
Update Cadence
The ingestion pipeline runs twice daily at 04:00 UTC and 16:00 UTC via a Vercel Cron job, triggered by an authenticated POST request to /api/update.
All six sources are fetched in parallel. If any individual source fails, the remaining metrics are still written to the database and the response records which sources encountered errors. This ensures a partial outage at one agency does not blank the entire dashboard.
Each daily run upserts a single Firestore document keyed to the current UTC date. Historical documents are preserved, enabling the trend sparklines shown on each metric card.
Data Sources
Global Surface Temperature Anomaly
°CProvider
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Dataset
Climate at a Glance — Global Land & Ocean
Baseline
1901–2000 average
Cadence
Monthly
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/global/time-series/globe/land_ocean/tavg/1/0/1880-{year}.csv
Combines land surface air temperature and sea surface temperature records from thousands of stations and ocean platforms. The anomaly (departure from baseline) is more comparable across time than absolute temperature.
Atmospheric CO₂ Concentration
ppmProvider
NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (GML)
Dataset
Mauna Loa Weekly CO₂
Baseline
Pre-industrial ~280 ppm
Cadence
Weekly
https://gml.noaa.gov/webdata/ccgg/trends/co2/co2_weekly_mlo.csv
Measured at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii at 3,400 m elevation — far from local emission sources. This continuous record (the Keeling Curve) has run since 1958 and is the definitive reference for atmospheric carbon. The displayed value is the most recent weekly average with a valid reading.
Global Ocean Surface Temp Anomaly
°CProvider
NOAA NCEI
Dataset
Climate at a Glance — Global Ocean
Baseline
1901–2000 average
Cadence
Monthly
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/climate-at-a-glance/global/time-series/globe/ocean/tavg/1/0/1850-{year}.csv
Global mean ocean surface temperature anomaly derived from ship, buoy, and satellite observations. The ocean absorbs over 90% of excess planetary heat, making this a key indicator of long-term heat accumulation.
Arctic Sea Ice Extent
million km²Provider
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
Dataset
Sea Ice Index v4
Baseline
1981–2010 seasonal climatology
Cadence
Daily
https://noaadata.apps.nsidc.org/NOAA/G02135/north/daily/data/N_seaice_extent_daily_v4.0.csv
Total Arctic Ocean area with at least 15% sea-ice concentration, measured by passive microwave satellite sensors. The record extends back to 1978. Extent varies strongly by season — the annual minimum typically occurs in September.
Seismic Activity (M5+, 7-day count)
countProvider
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
Dataset
Earthquake Hazards Program — FDSN Event API
Baseline
Rolling 30-day average (~25/week globally)
Cadence
Real-time (queried every 12 h)
https://earthquake.usgs.gov/fdsnws/event/1/count?format=geojson&minmagnitude=5&starttime={-7d}&endtime={today}
Count of globally detected earthquakes with moment magnitude ≥ 5.0 in the past 7 days. M5+ events are strong enough to be widely felt and can cause structural damage near the epicentre. This metric is geological, not climate-related.
Solar Activity (Sunspot Number)
SSN indexProvider
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)
Dataset
Observed Solar Cycle Indices
Baseline
Solar Cycle 25 (began Dec 2019)
Cadence
Monthly SSN; flares queried from NASA DONKI (7-day window)
https://services.swpc.noaa.gov/json/solar-cycle/observed-solar-cycle-indices.json
The international sunspot number (SSN) is a proxy for overall solar magnetic activity. Solar flare classifications (A/B/C/M/X) are sourced from the NASA DONKI catalog. Solar variability accounts for only ~0.1°C of observed warming over the past century.
Limitations & Caveats
- —Source datasets are published by independent agencies on their own schedules. The most recent value displayed may lag the latest available data by days to weeks, depending on the metric.
- —Arctic sea ice extent varies by season. A single absolute value without seasonal context can be misleading — always compare against the same period in prior years.
- —The CO₂ record exhibits a natural seasonal cycle of ±4 ppm driven by Northern Hemisphere vegetation. Year-over-year comparisons are more meaningful than month-over-month.
- —Earthquake counts reflect reporting thresholds and network sensitivity, which have improved over time. Historical comparisons should account for this.
- —This site does not perform any independent analysis or modelling. All values are reproduced directly from primary scientific sources.