4 Billion Years On

4 Billion Years On

A living dashboard for the forces reshaping our world.

Tracking Artificial Intelligence, Climate Change, Renewable Energy & Biotechnology.

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Explore

Explore 4byo

Country & Region Updates
Monthly temperature and rainfall updates for 248 places - continents, countries, US climate regions, US states and UK regions
4byo Climate Helix
Year-on-year temperature spirals for the globe and 160+ countries and regions
4byo Climate Symphony
ENSO, the IOD, the NAO, the Polar Vortex and the slow Atlantic (AMV, AMOC) on one live timeline - and how they connect
Extreme Weather
Live GDACS disaster alerts alongside long-term EM-DAT trends since 1960
CO₂ Emissions
Global and per-country carbon dioxide output tracked over time
Energy Dashboard
Electricity generation mix by country - renewables, fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro
Planetary Boundaries
Nine Earth-system thresholds and how close we are to crossing each one
Sea & Ice
Ocean heat, sea level rise and Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent
AI Dashboard
Capability benchmarks, model releases and compute trends across frontier AI
Biotech Dashboard
Breakthroughs in genomics, gene therapy, longevity and synthetic biology
Greenhouse Gases
CO₂, methane and N₂O concentrations from ice cores to the present day
For Students & Teachers
Free real-time climate data mapped to GCSE, A-level, IB and AP curricula

FAQs

FAQs

What is 4 Billion Years On?

A living dashboard for the forces reshaping our world. A science journalism site that makes data on climate, energy, AI, biotech and planetary health accessible to everyone. We combine regularly updated interactive dashboards with in-depth articles and plain-English explainers. Everything is free and no registration is required.

What climate dashboards and tools are on the site?

Country & Region Updates give monthly temperature and rainfall for 248 places - every continent, 169 countries, US states and climate regions, and UK regions. Alongside them are the Global Climate Update, Climate Rankings, Climate Records, the Climate Insights & History explorer, the Climate Map, Shifting Seasons, Heatwave Days, the 4byo Climate Helix (temperature spirals) and 4byo Climate Symphony (the climate drivers together), with trackers for ENSO (El Niño and La Niña), the NAO, the Polar Vortex and AO, the Indian Ocean Dipole and the AMOC. The Climate Overview gives the latest headline figures and a guide to every climate page.

What energy dashboards are available?

The Energy Dashboard tracks electricity generation mix by country - renewables, fossil fuels, nuclear and hydro. Energy Rankings compare countries by clean-energy share. Greenhouse Gases tracks CO2, methane and N2O concentrations from ice cores to today. The Emissions page covers global and per-country CO2 output, and the UK Plug-in Solar guide tracks the kits, rules and payback for balcony solar.

What are the planetary and Earth-system dashboards?

Sea & Ice covers ocean heat, sea level rise and Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extent. Planetary Boundaries tracks all nine Earth-system thresholds defined by researchers at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, including climate, biodiversity, freshwater and novel entities. Tipping Points follows the Earth systems that could shift for good, and Coral Reefs tracks marine heatwaves and bleaching.

What does the Extreme Weather page show?

The Extreme Weather page combines live GDACS disaster alerts (tropical storms, floods, droughts and wildfires) with long-term EM-DAT trends showing how the frequency and severity of extreme events has changed since 1960.

What are the AI and Biotech dashboards?

The AI Dashboard tracks the FrontierMath benchmark, model releases, frontier data centres and their power, AI's share of world electricity, and investment. The Biotech Dashboard covers WHO disease outbreaks, immunisation coverage, the cost of sequencing a genome, clinical trials and CRISPR research output.

What are the Explained pages?

Each topic area has an Explained section - Climate Explained, Energy Explained, AI Explained and Biotech Explained. These provide plain-English guides to the science and concepts behind the data on this site, including glossaries and key explainers.

What are the book pages?

We curate reading lists of the best science books by topic: Climate Books, Energy Books, AI Books and Biotech Books. Each page summarises the most important titles for readers who want to go deeper than the dashboards.

How often is the data updated?

Most climate and energy dashboards update monthly as source agencies (NOAA, the Met Office, Copernicus, Our World in Data, Ember) publish new readings. Trackers such as ENSO update daily or weekly. Extreme weather alerts update in near-real-time. Articles publish as events warrant.

Are the site and articles free?

Yes. All articles, dashboards and tools on 4 Billion Years On are free to use. No subscription or registration is required.