US Natural Gas Consumption vs Worldwide Major Earthquakes (M5+)

US Natural Gas Consumption and Worldwide Major Earthquakes (M5+) correlate at r = +0.35 over 61 years (1965–2025), p = 0.0057. With the time trend removed, r = -0.41. Direction flips without the trend.

Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is 0.35, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes -0.41. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.

Pearson r: +0.35
p-value: 0.0057
Years compared (n): 61 (1965–2025)
95% confidence interval: 0.11 to 0.55
Correlation with the time trend removed: -0.41

Sources

US Natural Gas Consumption (TWh): Our World in Data. US Natural Gas Consumption (Our World in Data: Gas).
Worldwide Major Earthquakes (M5+) (earthquakes per year): USGS. Annual worldwide count of magnitude 5+ earthquakes (USGS ComCat).

Related pairs

Atmospheric Methane (global) vs US Natural Gas Consumption (r = +0.98)
US Natural Gas Consumption vs US Federal Debt Outstanding (r = +0.94)
US Natural Gas Consumption vs US Wind Power Generation (r = +0.93)
US Natural Gas Consumption vs US R&D Expenditure (r = +0.93)
US Natural Gas Consumption vs US Renewable Energy Share (r = +0.92)
US Natural Gas Consumption vs US GDP (current US$) (r = +0.92)

Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.