Large floating pumice accumulations from the Titan Ridge submarine eruption have inundated coastal villages in Manus Province, Papua New Guinea, this week, blocking sea access and preventing boat movement.
El Niño conditions have developed in the tropical Pacific Ocean and are expected to strengthen through the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2026-27, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issued an El Niño Advisory on June 11, 2026, after oceanic and atmospheric conditions shifted into an El Niño pattern.
A fireball detected over the South Atlantic Ocean at 02:13:14 UTC on April 1, 2026, has emerged as a candidate interstellar meteor following an orbital analysis by Avi Loeb and Richard Cloete, who argue that its trajectory is inconsistent with an origin within the Solar System. The object, designated Polar-IM, is described by Loeb and Cloete as the strongest interstellar meteor candidate yet identified in the NASA Center for Near Earth Object Studies (CNEOS) fireball database, with a confidence level above 99.9997% under the researchers’ uncertainty model.
Kīlauea’s ongoing summit eruption reached its 48th lava-fountaining episode in Halemaʻumaʻu crater, Hawaii, at 04:40 HST (14:40 UTC) on June 1, 2026, setting a written-record benchmark for episodic lava fountaining during a single Kīlauea eruption, according to the USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO). The episode ended abruptly at 13:37 HST (23:37 UTC) after just under 9 hours of continuous fountaining from the north vent, and the eruption was paused afterward.
A new study found that 335 million ha (828 million ha) burned worldwide in 2025, the second-lowest global wildfire total since 2002 and 16% below the long-term average. Despite that, 2025 became the costliest year on record for insured wildfire losses globally, with more than 300 000 evacuations and over 90 fatalities linked to major fires in Canada, the United States, Europe, and South Korea.
Authorities in Michoacán, Mexico, evacuated a residence and nearby homes and suspended classes at a nearby preschool after hot water, steam, mud, and gases vented from the ground at a residential property in the community of El Salitre, municipality of Ixtlán, during the night of May 25–26, 2026. Protección Civil described the phenomenon as hydrothermal activity under assessment.
A very bright meteor was seen over erupting Mayon volcano in the Philippines at 22:33 PHT (14:33 UTC) on May 25, 2026. Videos of the event show the object crossing the sky near the volcano before ending in a very bright terminal flash.
New Jersey declared a State of Emergency on May 20, 2026, and requested a federal Disaster designation after freezing temperatures between April 19 and 22 caused widespread agricultural damage across the state during a critical growing stage. Early estimates place losses at more than USD 300 million.
A strong earthquake registered by the IGP as an M6.1 struck near Ica, southern Peru, at 12:57 LT (17:57 UTC) on May 19, 2026, injuring 28 people and damaging homes, schools, health facilities, roads, and other public facilities.
Asteroid 2026 JH2 is expected to pass Earth at a distance of 0.237 LD (0.00061 AU / 91 300 km / 56 700 miles) from the center of our planet at 21:23 UTC on May 18, 2026. Its closest point will be about 84 900 km (52 700 miles) above Earth’s surface.
