Anne-Marie Brest

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Overshoot Days

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year. Earth Overshoot Day in 2024 is August 1st. This day has been oscillating between August 3 (2019 and 2021), August 2 (2023) and August 1 (2022, 2024), in the last few years with a marked difference in 2020 where it landed on August 16. What it means is that the world is using 170% of Earth resources or 1.7 Earths in a year, and has been doing so for decades. (For a full historical perspective, you can check this graph: https://www.overshootday.org/newsroom/past-earth-overshoot-days/)

A Country’s Overshoot day is the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in this country. This allows for comparison between nations.

The USA Overshoot Day fell on March 14 in 2020, 2021 and 2024, and in 2022 it fell on March 13. What it means is that, it would take 5.13 Earths if everyone on this planet lived like people in the USA.
All details, calculations and more at OvershootDay.org including solutions on how to move the day backwards.

N.B.: Typically, there is a three to four-year lag between the latest data-year and the present due to the UN’s reporting process.