Explore a real-time map of fine particle pollution from wildfires and other sources provided by the US Forest Service, which includes overlays for topography, street views, and satellite imagery.

Track active wildfires, floods, and other natural disasters across the US in real time with this interactive map.

Explore this real-time global air quality map with data reported from more than 10,000 stations around the world.

Visualize real-time and historical atmospheric conditions from around the world

This tool provides live maps of wind, rain, thunderstorms, and other atmospheric phenomena overlayed on an interactive map of the Earth. Users can enter their location to explore local atmospheric dynamics and review historical weather conditions dating back to 1979.

Explore an interactive global weather map, with overlays depicting real-time data on temperature, precipitation, wind, humidity, and pressure, which enable the tracking and monitoring of extreme weather events.

Explore this interactive EPA map, which shows 'forever chemical' testing results for public water systems—with brown spots indicating testing results above national limits.

Explore weekly and historical maps of drought conditions across the US, alongside regional summaries of drought conditions, with the US Drought Monitor.

Explore an interactive visualization of greenhouse gas emissions from 745 million sources worldwide.

NASA satellite data and sound recordings used to assess rainforest health

This two-minute video describes the work of scientists who are analyzing the impact of repeated forest fires in the Amazon by recording the unique sounds in degraded forests. The team is using acoustic sensors to record sounds of wildlife in the...

View an interactive map of US power plants, which generate electricity from coal, gas, water, biomass, nuclear fuel, oil, sunlight, and wind.

Volatile chemical contamination can last in burn areas long after urban wildfires

Lead, arsenic, asbestos, and other chemicals have been found trapped in smoke-exposed rugs, couches, pillows, and other furniture that appeared otherwise undamaged from the 2025 LA wildfires. The gradual release of these substances has produced dangerous indoor air concentrations and contributed to increased emergency room visits and abnormal blood tests.

An archive of the art of the Sanborn fire insurance maps

For a century, US insurance companies used Sanborn Fire Maps to decide the premiums customers would pay for fire insurance. These maps were designed to show the building materials used in each structure in 12,000 communities across 300,000 maps. While they have become obsolete, these maps are still useful for historians and urban designers, and anyone interested in lovely, original typography. Dive into the most artful Sanborn Fire Maps with this passion project collection.

Fireworks contribute to air, water, and soil contamination and disrupt wildlife

Fireworks displays have far-reaching environmental consequences, including acid rain from displays during storms and microplastic pollution in water supplies. Wildlife has also been seen abandoning sites during fireworks and never returning.

View a fall foliage prediction map to estimate the progressive change in the color of leaves throughout the US from September to mid-November.

Explore an interactive map of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis from 2150 BCE to the present.

Using AI to track plastic pollution in real time

Explore Global Plastic Watch, the first-ever, near-real-time, high-resolution map of plastic pollution. Global Plastic Watch uses advanced satellite data technology and machine learning to measure piles of plastic waste from space.

View major global infrastructure, including power plants, fuel lines, and water pumping stations

The Open Infrastructure Map displays data from the OpenStreetMap database, which aggregates information from freely licensed geodata sources, surveys, and photographic and satellite imagery. It also displays power lines, generators, substations, various chemical pipelines, telecommunications towers, data centers, and more in daytime and nighttime maps.

View live conflict data, military flights, ship tracking, and market feeds in one dashboard

The free tool pulls from conflict databases, military flight transponders, and maritime vessel trackers, layered over 45 map overlays and 435 news feeds in 21 languages. It is reportedly used by over two million people across 190 countries.

Rising wildfire smoke can create 'fire clouds'—towering clouds that can help combat fires through downbursts of rain or complicate firefighting efforts by triggering new fires via lightning strikes.

A third of Americans now live in wildfire risk zones

Climate change and human development into fire-prone regions have extended the wildfire season, with some areas experiencing fire conditions year-round. Extreme conditions, poor compensation, and exposure to carcinogens have complicated firefighter recruitment, further exacerbating wildfire risks.

Explore a gallery of space-based images and animations of Earth

This collection compiles shots of well-known locations, such as US national parks, and natural features, including aurora borealis and fall foliage, to provide a high-level view of Earth's surface.

Snowfall records from every county in the US

Discover the one-day snowfall records of every county in the US in this comprehensive map. Data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration captures inches of snowfall and the year it fell the most in each county. See the contrasts between the inches of snowfall in warm southern American states and the cooler East Coast.

Explore and visualize AI-driven riverine and flash-flood forecasts across more than 150 countries to anticipate these natural disasters up to seven days in advance.

Los Angeles once suffered some of the worst smog on Earth

From the 1940s through the 1960s, Los Angeles was blanketed by dense, eye-burning smog so severe that drivers sometimes couldn't see traffic lights. The issue led to the nation's first local air pollution controls and inspired the passage of the 1970 Clean Air Act.

Explore US public health data

This resource tracks key US health metrics, including mortality causes, child survival rates, and life expectancy comparisons, to inform future health improvements, with regularly updated global estimates.

How fighting wildfires works

Firefighters use sophisticated strategies to control wildfires that sometimes cover thousands of acres. This video breaks down how teams set up fire lines to isolate the fires by cutting down brush and trees around the existing fire, among other...

Explore a series of NASA visualizations tracking satellites and space debris

The series illustrates the population of objects orbiting Earth as of February 2024, using data from US Space Command. These include active satellites, defunct spacecraft, rocket bodies and debris fragments larger than roughly 10 centimeters in low Earth orbit.

Visualize network coverage for mobile carriers worldwide with maps of crowdsourced latency and download and upload speeds.

Visualize government spending with USAFacts to see complex federal budget data as clear charts and summaries, and explore where the money goes as well as how revenue, deficits, and debt change over time.

View the most turbulent flight routes and airports around the world

Using data from NOAA and the UK Met Office, these maps identify South America as the geographic region with the highest average turbulence. The most turbulent flights in North America are all found in the western United States.

Explore how close you live to some of the most contaminated places in the US

Known as Superfund sites, these toxic locations undergo long-term cleanup to remove hazardous waste, protect health, and restore land for safe reuse. As of 2025, the EPA lists around 1,300 active Superfund sites on its National Priorities List, with more than 450 cleaned and removed since 1980.

Create digital maps of Earth with custom sketches and labels

In this interactive, users can apply layers to various base maps to display natural and human features, including geological activity, biomes, ocean currents, population densities, and light pollution. Custom legends, markers, and drawings can be used to highlight prominent features.

Beyond burns, fireworks can harm respiratory, auditory, and visual health.

Explore Earth's atmosphere and what its layers contain in this interactive adventure

In this interactive, users can move from Earth's surface up through its atmosphere, exploring the natural phenomena found in each layer, including atmospheric rivers, auroras, and meteor showers. Artificial structures such as weather balloons and the International Space Station can also be found on the adventure.

Citizen scientist volunteers can help identify invasive species in wilderness areas

Launched in 2005 by the Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health at the University of Georgia, EDDMapS allows users can document invasive species sightings in the US and Canada in a web-based mapping system. As of February 2026, EDDMapS has over 8.6 million records, all freely available for querying.

Explore how Sanborn fire insurance maps used color-coded buildings and symbols to chart American towns building by building.

Learn about the plant and animal species in every US county that are federally protected under the US Endangered Species Act with this interactive map.

Favorable conditions for wildfires are becoming more frequent in the western US

A new study of the American West shows that climate change is driving more days that are hot, dry, and windy—the perfect conditions for deadly wildfires.

Rainfall and lush vegetation make the Great Smoky Mountains smoky

The national park is a rainforest that receives significant rainfall. When the vegetation on the mountains gets wet, it releases a gas that is smoky, and sometimes even appears blue, a phenomenon that gave the mountains (and the park) its name.

Photochemical smog forms when sunlight reacts with car and industrial emissions

The hazy phenomenon's name is a combination of "smoke" and "fog" and is composed of chemical pollutants that can cause eye irritation, lung damage and harm to crops. Smog buildup is more common in cities with sunny climates, minimal wind and surrounding mountains that trap these chemicals.

Visualizing the year in US tornadoes, 2024

Between January and November 2024, over 1,700 tornadoes were documented to have touched down in the US, a relatively high number (and similar to the numbers in 2004, 2008, and 2011). This map shows their location across the country to help capture the number.

Visualize the components of fireworks

This article provides animated diagrams depicting how different parts of fireworks function. The elements work together through timed mechanisms to produce desired effects.

A map of extreme weather events and their links to climate change

To track how the evidence on this fast-moving topic is stacking up, Carbon Brief has mapped every extreme-weather attribution study published to date. Read more about the findings from the comprehensive analysis.

Explore data on every US county with this interactive

The Community Explorer is an interactive tool that brings the power of big data and machine learning to the equity-related policy discussion. Search by economic profile and county and see the country from a different lens.

Visualize energy sources and uses across the US

Want to understand the basics of America’s current energy situation? The National Academies, advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine, provides objective information about the United States’ current energy sources and uses, as well as a look forward to the future of energy.

Explore detailed US census data for each state

QuickFacts provides statistics for all states and counties, and for cities and towns with a population of 5,000 or more, collected through the US census. Interactive tables, maps, and charts synthesize census data. A drop-down menu allows users to...

See how a 2018 fire in Paradise, California, exposed the limits of emergency coordination

This Frontline documentary shows how the Camp Fire stretched and ultimately overwhelmed the complex web of agencies involved in emergency response, including fire suppression, 911 dispatch, law enforcement, and emergency management, with catastrophic results.

View a dashboard of real-time data and forecasts of US nocturnal bird migration.

How the California wildfires are impacting wildlife

The deadly 2025 Eaton and Palisades Fires in California have devastated neighborhoods, forested canyons and chaparral—a type of shrubland. In addition to taking dozens of human lives and displacing thousands, the fires destroyed countless habitats and displaced many species. See the unfortunate effects of the flames on wildlife populations, including birds, snakes, wildcats, and fish.

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

Watch a time-lapse from space of photosynthesis across Earth

Using NASA satellite imagery, carbon absorption can be tracked and serves as a proxy for photosynthetic activity on land and in the oceans. Over the course of a year, seasonal changes can be observed as plants become dormant in the fall and active again in the spring.