Image Archives

Warming stripes

Longlist Climate change is a complex global issue, requiring simple communication about its effects at the local scale. This set of visualisations highlight how we have witnessed temperatures change across the globe over the past century or more. The colour of each stripe represents the temperature of a single year, ordered from the earliest available data at each location to now. All other superfluous information is removed so that the changes in temperature are seen simply and undeniably.

Annual global temperatures from 1850-2017

The colour scale represents the change in global temperatures covering 1.35°C [data]
Continue reading Warming stripes →

Heavy rainfall events increasing

Data: E-OBS v17 gridded rainfall dataset. Calculated as the number of gridpoints per calendar year with daily rainfall amounts over 25mm, divided by the number of gridpoints.

Mapping changes in UK temperature

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Arctic sea ice animation

[Updated: 16/01/2020]

The decline of Arctic sea ice over the past 40 years has been one of the more obvious signs that Earth’s climate is warming, especially in the summer when the ice extent reaches its annual minimum. Here you can watch how the amount of sea ice in the Arctic has varied since the start of the satellite era in late-1978. Continue reading Arctic sea ice animation →

Choose colour scales carefully

When designing scientific graphics, one key choice is about which colour scale to use (something discussed in several previous posts). The animated graphic below is a simulation of how an image would look to someone who is colour blind (a few percent of men). Continue reading Choose colour scales carefully →

Global temperature change as polka-dots

Inspired by National Geographic’s climate change evidence graphics, I made my own global temperature polka-dot visualisations.

In the spirit of experimentation, here are three types, successively getting more complicated. After comments from several people I have made both portrait & landscape versions. I would be interested to know which works best for you. Continue reading Global temperature change as polka-dots →

Coral reef bleaching

Off the coast of Australia, the corals on the Great Barrier Reef are bleaching and dying.

One key reason is the heat. A quick glance at the history of sea surface temperatures in the region shows why the bleaching has become more common and widespread in recent decades.

Climate graphics of 2016

2016 has been quite a year for the climate. Warmest year ever recorded. Record low sea ice extents at both poles. It has also seen many amazing climate visualisations and animations. I have collected some of my favourites on this storify page, including graphics for temperature, sea ice, pressure observations and Hurricane Matthew.

One of the graphics is shown below, mapping temperature changes from 1850-2016, and including the decadal averages of global temperatures. This graphic has been updated from a previous version.

Mapping global temperature changes from 1850-2016. Click for high-resolution version.

Climate Lab Book

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