Code FUBAR for Everything!
Moving Beyond "Code Red for Humanity"
“Today’s IPCC Working Group 1 report is a code red for humanity. The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable.”
—António Guterres, August 9, 2021:
I often use one of the phrases ‘Code Yikes!’ or ‘Code UFB!’ to call attention to an unusual climate event. But when nearly every climate statistic is setting a daily, monthly or all-time record, these catch-phrases are no longer sufficient to express just how dire the situation has become. And that’s where we find ourselves today.
Meanwhile, the more dire the predicament, the less attention it seems to get in the media. For example, on U.S. broadcast TV, there was a 25% decline in climate segments from 2023 to 2024. In 2025, global newspaper coverage fell 14% compared to 2024, and was 38% lower than 2021.
And while climate records are being broken almost every day, the momentum of political arrogance, industrial greed and societal ignorance is accelerating us towards a grotesque and uninhabitable planet, the sixth great extinction, where almost every living creature is at risk.
It’s no longer ‘Code Yikes!’ or ‘Code UFB!’. It’s no longer ‘code red for humanity’. The times we live in are now ‘Code FUBAR for Everything.’
And so, with one grand “Code FUBAR for Everything,” here are the climate records I’ve been posting about on social media.
Record High Daily Global 2-Meter Surface Temperature.
Althought not at an all-time high, the latest temperature, from March 26th, is the hottest March 26th on record since 1940, at about 1.55°C above the 1850-1900 IPCC pre-industrial baseline.
Record High 36-Month Running Average for the Global 2-Meter Surface Temperature Anomaly.
Meanwhile the planet overall is at an all-time record high, when global surface temperature is measured as a running mean over the last 36-months.
The current 36-month average is 1.53°C above the 1850-1900 IPCC pre-industrial baseline. This is likely the highest this running mean has been in the last 120,000 years.
Record Daily Global Sea-Surface Temperature (60°S - 60°N).
The global sea-surface temperature (SST) set a daily high as of the latest data, from March 27th, at a preliminary temperature of 21.149°C. SST’s are “preliminary” for about 2 weeks, so we won’t know for sure until the 2nd week of April.
The highest recorded SST is 21.173°C, on April 24, 2024, at the tail of the 23/24 El Nino. Reminder: a strong El Nino is currently forecast to develop later this year.
Record Low Annual Arctic Sea-Ice Extent Maximum
Arctic sea-ice extent hits its yearly maximum each year in late February to mid-March. This year saw a record low maximum, beating the previous record low maximum, set just last year, by just over 25,000 square kilometers.
Record Low Daily Arctic Sea-Ice Extent
Arctic sea-ice has set a new record low extent for the past 13 days in a row, with the latest data for March 27th coming in at more than 23,000 square kilometers below the previous record low for the day.
Record Low 36-Month Running Mean for Arctic Sea-Ice Thickness
I also keep track of Arctic sea-ice thickness and volume using data from PIOMAS, which comes out the second week of each month for the previous month.
As of that latest data through February, 2026, the 36-month running mean for Arctic sea-ice thickness is at a record low. Aside: the most recent 36-month running mean for volume is not at a record low.
Record Low 36-Month Running Average for Earth Albedo
I compute Earth albedo (reflectivity) using CERES data, which runs a couple of months behind. The latest data available is from January, 2026. This data shows a new record low for Earth albedo. The primary driver of the loss of albedo is change in cloud cover and loss of sea-ice.
Record High 36-Month Rate of Atmospheric CO2 Growth
Of course, actual CO2 is setting a new record year after year. I could, of course, just show the Keeling Curve. But what is remarkable as of the latest data for February, 2026, is that the rate of CO2 growth is increasing. The current rate of CO2 growth is a record 8.15ppm per 3 years.
The graph below shows the current record, along with the aspirational net-zero line. That dip in the 1990’s was primarily due to Mt. Pinatubo (Google is your friend).
Record High 36-Month Running Average for the Total Column Precipitable Water
As the planet warms up, the atmopshere can hold more water vapor. Roughly, for every 1C of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more water vapor.
Total column precipitable water is the total amount of water vapor contained in a vertical column of the atmosphere from Earth’s surface to the top of the atmosphere. Nowhere are the impacts of a warming more apparent than in the record setting growth of TCPW.
The graph below shows the latest data, from February, 2026 for the Northern Mid-Latitudes, where about 50% of humans live. Car soup time.
The rest of the planet is not far behind:
Non-Records
Not everything is a record.
The 36-month running average for the Earth Energy Imbalance is at about 11.25 Hiroshimas per Second, down from a record high of more than 13 HpS in late 2023.
Antarctic sea-ice extent currently ranks 10th lowest for the date, and is less than one standard deviation below the 1991-2020 average.
The rate of methane growth has slowed considerably, although it’s still far from meeting the Glasgow Pledge of a 30% reduction by 2030.
So, that’s it. That’s all I’ve got. That is, until tomorrow when new records will be set.
These truly are the days of “Code FUBAR for Everything!”
I'm with you, Prof. Eliot. But what's a girl, who for 25+ years was an Arctic-themed educator, to do when she's faced with repeated comments like, "Oh, there she goes again with her pessimism and fear-mongering, about how dire the crisis is?" The current problem is too much distraction: wars, politics, Epstein, cost of living, oligarchy, etc. I still do my educating, but fewer people are listening. Most have chosen the ostrich approach. If it's not one thing that'll kill ya, one of the others will. Nevertheless, I commend you for your tenacity and commitment to the cause. If nothing else, it helps me to feel less alone in our common quest...
What a scary time to be alive. Hang in there Eliot...