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Start with these files — they give you everything you need to understand and access the dataset.
- 1. Fetch datapackage.json to inspect schema and resources
- 2. Download data resources listed in datapackage.json
- 3. Read README.md for full context
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boundaries
Schema
| name | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| id | number | Indicator ID as used in the Steffen 2015 paper (e.g. 1.0 = climate change, 5.1 = phosphorus cycle) |
| name | string | Short English name of the planetary boundary indicator |
| unit | string | Measurement unit for this indicator's value |
| boundary_value | number | The quantitative boundary value (safe operating space limit) as defined in Steffen et al. 2015 |
| boundary_zone_lower | number | Lower bound of the zone of uncertainty (below this = clearly safe) |
| boundary_zone_upper | number | Upper bound of the zone of uncertainty (above this = high-risk zone) |
| boundary_direction | string | Whether higher values indicate greater pressure (positive) or lower values indicate greater pressure (negative) |
| current_value | number | Most recent observed value for this indicator |
| current_year | integer | Year of the most recent observation |
| boundary_exceeded | boolean | Whether the current value has exceeded the boundary threshold |
boundary-evolution
Schema
| name | type | description |
|---|---|---|
| year | number | Year of observation. For climate change (CO2) this is a decimal date (e.g. 1958.2027 = February 1958). For all other indicators this is an integer year. |
| boundary_id | number | Indicator ID matching the boundaries table (e.g. 1.0, 5.1) |
| boundary_name | string | Full descriptive name of the boundary indicator including units context |
| value | number | Observed value of the indicator in the units specified in the boundaries table |
| unit | string | Measurement unit for the value |
Data Files
| File | Description | Size | Last modified | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
boundaries | Definitions and current status of the nine planetary boundaries (12 sub-indicators). Each row describes one indicator: its safe operating space threshold, zone of uncertainty, and whether the boundary is currently exceeded based on the most recent available data. | 900 B | about 2 months ago | boundaries |
boundary-evolution | Temporal evolution of each planetary boundary indicator from pre-industrial times to ~2025. Data density varies by indicator: climate change (CO2) has monthly data since 1958, while others have sparse historical anchor points. Values are as observed/reported; no interpolation applied. | 79.2 kB | about 2 months ago | boundary-evolution |
| Files | Size | Format | Created | Updated | License | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 80.1 kB | csv | about 2 months ago | Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International | Planetary Boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet, Science 2015 |
Planetary Boundaries
Data on the nine planetary boundaries framework — the environmental limits within which humanity can safely operate. As of 2023, nine out of twelve tracked indicators have exceeded their boundary values.
Background
The planetary boundary (PB) concept was introduced in 2009 by Rockström et al. and updated in 2015 by Steffen et al. in Science. The framework defines nine Earth-system processes that together regulate the stability and resilience of the Holocene state in which human civilisation developed. Each boundary has a quantitative threshold; crossing it risks pushing the Earth system toward a new, potentially irreversible state.
The nine boundaries are:
- Climate change — atmospheric CO₂ concentration (boundary: 350 ppm; current: ~428 ppm — exceeded)
- Ocean acidification — aragonite saturation state Ωa (boundary: 2.75; current: ~2.84 — within)
- Ozone depletion — stratospheric ozone in Dobson units (boundary: 276 DU; current: ~286 DU — within, recovering)
- Atmospheric aerosol loading — aerosol optical depth (boundary: 0.1; current: ~0.063 — within)
- Biogeochemical flows — phosphorus (boundary: 6.2 Tg/yr; current: ~18 Tg/yr — exceeded) and nitrogen (boundary: 62 Tg/yr; current: ~165 Tg/yr — exceeded)
- Freshwater change — blue water (boundary: 12.9%; current: ~22.6% — exceeded) and green water (boundary: 12.4%; current: ~22% — exceeded)
- Land-system change — forest cover as % of original (boundary: 75%; current: ~59% — exceeded)
- Biosphere integrity — genetic diversity in E/MSY (boundary: 10; current: ~150 — exceeded) and functional diversity in %HANPP (boundary: 10%; current: ~30% — exceeded)
- Novel entities — synthetic chemicals, plastics, nuclear materials (boundary: 0% relative to pre-industrial; current: ~50% — exceeded)
Data
data/boundaries.csv
One row per planetary boundary indicator (12 sub-indicators total). Columns:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
id | Indicator ID (1.0 = climate change, 5.1 = phosphorus, etc.) |
name | Short English name |
unit | Measurement unit |
boundary_value | Safe operating space threshold (Steffen et al. 2015) |
boundary_zone_lower | Lower bound of uncertainty zone |
boundary_zone_upper | Upper bound of uncertainty zone (above = high risk) |
boundary_direction | positive = higher is worse; negative = lower is worse |
current_value | Most recent observed value (~2025) |
current_year | Year of most recent observation |
boundary_exceeded | Whether the current value has crossed the threshold |
data/boundary-evolution.csv
Temporal evolution of each indicator from pre-industrial times to ~2025. Long format (year, boundary_id, boundary_name, value, unit).
Data density varies: the climate change indicator uses monthly Mauna Loa CO₂ data from 1958 onward (815 data points), while other indicators have sparse historical anchor points from key papers and databases.
Sources
- Steffen et al. 2015 — "Planetary Boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet", Science 347(6223). DOI: 10.1126/science.1259855
- Richardson et al. 2023 — "Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries", Science Advances 9(37). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adh2458
- Rockström et al. 2009 — "Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity", Ecology and Society. Link
- NOAA Mauna Loa CO₂ — Monthly atmospheric CO₂ measurements. Link
- BastienGauthier/planetary-flag — Temporal evolution data compiled by Bastien Gauthier. GitHub
License
Data is made available under CC BY 4.0. Please cite the original papers when using this data.