What to do when a reading is high

A high reading is a comparison, not a warning

An index is Elevated from 65 to 80 and High from 80. Either band means the measurements behind it rank above most of their recent past. It is not a forecast, it is not a statement about your safety and it is not an instruction. The readings are computed automatically from public data; nobody at Boring News decides that a day is High. How to read a 0 to 100 reading explains the method in full.

The site is built to describe a level and leave the decision to you. This guide is about what a careful reader can do with a high number: find out what is behind it, and know where the authoritative information is.

First, look at what is behind it

Every index page shows enough to check a reading in a minute or two.

• Drivers: the indicators pulling the reading furthest from 50. One indicator at the top of its range can lift an index on its own.
• Reliability: the share of the index backed by live data, with news reports counted at 60%. A Low reliability or an early reading means many sources did not answer.
• Measured or reported: a rise driven by instruments is different from a rise driven by the number of news articles. Measured, reported, counted once explains why.
• Trend: whether the reading is rising, falling or steady compared with two weeks ago. A single busy day reads differently from a month of them.
• The source: each indicator links to where its data comes from.

An example. Suppose Be Safe is at 78, Elevated, with reliability Medium at 64% because the internet outage source is not connected, and the main driver is hybrid incident reports at 95. That says English-language coverage of drones, GPS jamming, sabotage and undersea cables around the Baltic states is near the top of its three-month range. It does not say the number of incidents has risen, and it says nothing about your street.

Invest: do not trade on one week

The Invest index measures stress and swings in markets: the St. Louis Fed's financial stress index, how far US shares are below their recent high, the size of daily moves in oil, the euro, other European currencies and bitcoin, and the gap between long- and short-term US interest rates. It is not financial advice. It takes no view on whether prices will rise or fall, and it measures the size of price moves in both directions, so it can be high in a rising market too.

• A single reading says a week was unusual compared with its recent past. It says nothing about your goals, how long you plan to invest or what you hold.
• If you want advice on your own money, use an adviser who is authorised to give it. The European Securities and Markets Authority suggests checking with your national regulator whether a firm is authorised^[2].
• A busy week in markets is also a good moment to recall ESMA's advice on scams: be sceptical of unexpected offers, distrust unrealistic promises, watch for deepfake videos and check web addresses for odd spellings. If you have lost money, it advises reporting it to the police and to your national financial supervisor^[2].

React: go to the primary source

React tracks strong earthquakes, storms, floods and eruptions, and news coverage of armed conflict and of sanctions, trade and technology shocks, worldwide. A high reading mostly says the wider world is busier than usual.

• For earthquakes and natural events, follow the link on the event to the US Geological Survey or NASA entry. Those records are updated as more data arrives.
• For conflict and sanctions, the index counts English-language articles. Read several outlets, including ones close to the events, and look for statements from the governments involved.
• If an event affects a place you are in or travelling to, follow the local authorities and your own government's travel advice.

Be Safe: official channels first

Be Safe is the most local index and the one most likely to be mistaken for a safety warning. It counts news reports about hybrid incidents and cyber attacks in your edition's area, software flaws newly confirmed as exploited anywhere in the world, measured internet outages and natural hazards nearby. It is not connected to any national warning system and is not reviewed by any authority.

For warnings and advice on preparing, use the official channels where you are. These are for the countries Boring News has editions for. Each page was checked on 28 October 2026.

• Estonia: kriis.ee is the state's site for emergency information, with advice on preparing at home and the state helpline 1247, or +372 600 1247 from abroad^[3].
• Latvia: the State Fire and Rescue Service runs the national early warning system, which uses sirens, cell broadcast messages to phones (in use since 1 July 2025), a mobile app and public media^[4].
• Lithuania: the Fire and Rescue Department under the Ministry of the Interior publishes civil protection news, including notice of national exercises in which warning sirens sound^[5].
• Finland: the Suomi.fi guide Preparing for incidents and crises, funded by the Ministry of the Interior, covers power and water cuts, storms, military conflict and home emergency supplies^[6].
• Germany: the Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) runs the NINA warning app, which sends push notifications, and publishes federal warnings at warnung.bund.de. It calls a battery-powered or wind-up radio the main warning device when the power is out^[7].
• Poland: Alert RCB messages from the Government Centre for Security are sent free by text message to phones in the affected area, with no sign-up needed^[8]. The Ministry of the Interior and Administration publishes a safety guide.

The English edition covers the Baltic states. If you are somewhere else, your national civil protection authority is the place to start.

Most of what a high Be Safe reading can reasonably prompt is ordinary. Check that your phone can receive public warnings where you live. If the exploited software flaws indicator is the driver, install the updates waiting on your devices; that is the usual fix for those flaws. Beyond that, the authorities above are the ones who say when anything more is needed.

What we will never tell you to do

• Buy, sell or hold any investment.
• Leave your home, travel, or stay where you are. That is for the authorities.
• Stock up because a number went up. The preparedness advice on the official sites above is written for ordinary times.
• Treat a reading as confirmation that something happened. Events that come from news reports are labelled unconfirmed for that reason.

If an official source and Boring News seem to disagree, follow the official source. The terms say the same: the indexes are not advice and not official warnings.