Issue Observation and reporting gaps distort the planetary diagnosis

Summary

Boundary assessments combine satellite remote sensing, in-situ measurement, reanalysis and models, but ground networks are unevenly spread, costly to maintain and thin in remote regions and the open ocean. The report says realizing the potential of AI-supported monitoring requires closing observation gaps, especially in low- and middle-income regions, and building more equitable data infrastructure. The disaster database used for extreme events relies on official statistics that lag by years, recording 60,000 and 50,000 European heat deaths in 2022 and 2023 but hardly any elsewhere. Heat impacts are therefore probably underestimated by orders of magnitude, and where political instability disrupts data collection, as in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, firm conclusions are hard to reach. Control variable data also lag, with freshwater change relying on model runs ending in 2019 and forest area on satellite data ending in 2022. Parts of the diagnosis therefore rest on models and delayed records.