Our world is changing at a pace and scale that is hard to comprehend. The problems we face are so intricate and complex, that it is challenge to grasp the full scope of the crisis. That’s why over the years many scientists and researchers have used graphs or visuals to convey the true size of the emergency or to explain key concepts and potential solutions.
June 21st is Show Your Stripes Day. It is a day connected with the famous graph which expertly illustrates our rapidly changing climate. To mark the day, we thought it was worth looking at the different ways that the causes and implications of climate change have been illustrated over the years.
The Warming Stripes were created by Professor Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading in 2018. They are an excellent visualisation of global and local temperature rises.
By colour coding the average temperature for a single year, relative to the average temperature over the period from 1961 to 2010, the stripes attempt to show abnormality from the norm, independent of what the norm is. The stripes look similar whether you are looking globally or at a desert region or at the poles. But in comparing different regions it’s possible to show which areas are heating quicker.
What all the stripes show is that the red lines, those where average temperatures are higher than the norm, are skewed to the right of the graphic. It takes no prior knowledge of mathematical understanding to get the message.
The stripes have been widely used across multiple media, projected on buildings, used as a book cover, and incorporated in a fashion show.
Here are the latest stripes for Sheffield.
The curve is named after the scientist Charles David Keeling, who started the program and supervised it until his death in 2005.
Published daily using data taken from the Mauna Loa Observatory on the island of Hawaii This graph shows the CO2 concentration in the atmosphere and its seasonal variation and its inexorable rise. It is a powerful counter to graphs showing progress to net zero. This is what really matters.
This graph was made famous by Al Gore in his film An Inconvenient Truth. In the film the former US Vice President goes on his mission to educate on climate change. It was, and remains a stark visualisation of change on a longer scale. It highlights the speed of change since the industrial revolution.
Originally published in the journal Nature, in 1998, in a paper authored by Michael E. Mann, Raymond S. Bradley, and Malcolm K. Hughes the graph reconstructed average air temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere from 1500 AD to the present using a number of different sources of data.
This use of different data would ultimately lead to controversy. Arguments raged about the validity of combining direct measurements with proxies and the methodologies used to analyse the data.
Over the years the graph and versions of it, from different researchers and using different techniques, have emerged. They all point to the same conclusion – the earth is warming at a rate not seen in the history of modern civilization.
This graphic was first proposed in 2009 by a group of scientists at the Stockholm Resilience Institute. By 2023 it comprised a working model of 9 interconnected planetary systems and a measurement of our impact on them.
It illustrates a safe working limit for humanity, and that we are exceeding 6 of the 9 boundaries. It’s a powerful demonstration of how visualisation can be used to broaden the discourse. In a world where simplicity is often favoured, this representation shows how it’s possible to convey complex concepts in a way that’s easy to understand.
Created in 2012 by economist Kate Raworth, this is perhaps the most celebrated graphic in the world of sustainability. In fact to call it a graphic does not to do it justice. It is really the visualisation of a model.
It takes the Stockholm Resilience Centre’s planetary boundaries and adds a layer of human need to it. The graphic creates a true representation of a safe and just space to exist. But this would appear to just be the start. People, communities and diverse organisations are taking this framework and adapting it to their needs.
These examples highlight the vital role graphics and visuals play in communicating the urgency and complexity of the climate crisis. They could also inspire the collective action needed to navigate towards a sustainable future.