Earth Tools

A curated hub for watching the planet — a live disaster map and separate trackers for earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, tsunamis and drought, plus an interactive world atlas, an elevation and GPS coordinates finder, a tectonic plates and fault lines map, a true-size country comparison, and live climate vital signs. Every tool draws from an official source — USGS, the Smithsonian, NASA, NOAA and more — and runs in your browser with no sign-up. Great for geography and earth-science lessons, or for keeping an eye on hazards near a place you care about. These are catalogues and situational maps, not official warning systems.

Live Hazard Trackers

Free

Live Disaster Map

One world map of the natural disasters happening right now — earthquakes, volcanoes, cyclones, wildfires and drought — with a "Near me" search.

Open tool Free

Earthquake Tracker

A live map and list of recent earthquakes worldwide and near you, straight from the USGS feeds — filter by magnitude and time.

Open tool Free

Volcano Tracker

The planet's Holocene volcanoes from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, coloured by how recently each one last erupted.

Open tool Free

Wildfire Tracker

Active fire detections near you from NASA FIRMS satellite thermal data (VIIRS), each coloured by its heat intensity.

Open tool Free

Tsunami Tracker

Live tsunami warnings, watches and advisories from the US National Weather Service — the official NOAA tsunami alerts.

Open tool Free

US Drought Monitor

How much of the United States — and any state — is in drought right now, from the official US Drought Monitor.

Open tool New

Tornado Tracker

Live US tornado warnings and watches on a radar map, today's tornado risk from the Storm Prediction Center and tornado reports for any date.

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Maps & Climate

Free

World Atlas

An interactive 3D globe and flat world map — click any country for its flag, capital, population, area, currency and languages.

Open tool New

Elevation & GPS Coordinates

What is my elevation? Your height above sea level and GPS coordinates in one tap, or any place's on a topographic or satellite map.

Open tool New

Tectonic Plates Map

Every plate boundary by type, 13,000+ active fault lines including the San Andreas, the Ring of Fire and live earthquakes. Find which plate you are on.

Open tool New

Real Size of Countries

Drag Greenland, Russia or any country across the map to see its real size without Mercator distortion, and compare map projections.

Open tool Free

Climate Vital Signs

Live charts of Earth's key climate indicators — atmospheric CO₂, global temperature and sea level — from NOAA, NASA and NSIDC.

Open tool

How to Use These Earth Tools

Watch the whole planet, then zoom into one hazard.

1

Start with the big picture

Open the Live Disaster Map to see every active hazard on one world map, then tap "Near me" to sort everything by distance from you.

2

Zoom into one hazard

Jump to a dedicated tracker — earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires, tsunamis or drought — for the full feed from its official source, with filters and detail.

3

Put it in context

Use the World Atlas to explore countries and the Climate Vital Signs to see the long-term trends behind the day's events.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the data come from?
Every tracker draws from an official public source: earthquakes from the USGS, volcanoes from the Smithsonian Global Volcanism Program, wildfires from NASA FIRMS satellite data, tsunami warnings from the US National Weather Service (NOAA), drought from the US Drought Monitor, and climate indicators from NOAA, NASA and NSIDC. The world atlas uses Natural Earth boundaries. The tools fetch these feeds live in your browser and show them on a map or chart.
Are these tools live or updated in real time?
The hazard trackers pull the latest available data from their official feeds each time you open them, so they reflect recent activity — recent earthquakes, current fire detections, active tsunami alerts and the latest drought map. Update frequency depends on the source: earthquakes and fires refresh often, drought weekly, and climate indicators monthly. These are catalogues and situational maps, not official warning systems — always follow local authorities for emergencies.
Are the Earth tools free?
The Earth tools are completely free, need no sign-up and no API key, and run entirely in your browser. They are useful for geography and earth-science lessons, for keeping an eye on hazards near a place you care about, and for general curiosity about the planet. Nothing you do is uploaded, and your location — if you use a "Near me" feature — stays on your device.
Do the trackers cover the whole world?
The trackers' coverage follows their source. Earthquakes, volcanoes, wildfires and the world atlas are global. Tsunami alerts come from the US National Weather Service and the drought monitor covers the United States, so those two are US-focused. The live disaster map overlays the global hazards together, and the climate vital signs are planet-wide. Each tool notes its coverage and source on the page.