Planetary health check 2026

The Planetary Health Check is a yearly report on the state of our planet. It presents the most up-to-date assessments of the Planetary Boundaries, gives thorough introductions into cutting-edge science, and spotlights especially relevant aspects of our planet's health. In this 2026 edition, we place a special focus on carbon sinks and novel entities. Human activities have pushed Earth beyond its Safe Operating Space.

The planet's natural resilience is weakening: Global warming is accelerating, ecosystems are showing clear signs of degradation, and early warning signs of tipping points are emerging in key systems. These boundaries are scientifically defined guardrails that ensure the Earth's health. Today, seven out of nine boundaries have been transgressed. The seven transgressed boundaries are: climate change, change in biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change, modification of biogeochemical flows, introduction of novel entities, and ocean acidification. Only the stratospheric ozone depletion and atmospheric aerosol loading boundaries have shown improvement over the last decade. However, the authors caution that global progress may mask unsafe aerosol levels persisting in some regions.