THE UNIVERSITY of Reading has published a new study showing how the Climate Stripes visualisation has helped communicate the climate crisis to the public.
A new set of climate stripes have also been created to reflect new data, as explained as part of research which has been published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society.
The research, led by the stripes’ creator, Professor Ed Hawkins of the University of Reading, has shown that the use of the visualisation has been an effective method of communicating climate change to the public.
It comes as last year was once again the warmest year on record, with new shades added to the visualisation to represent the continuously rising average temperature of the planet.
It was also the first year to see temperatures of more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, according to the World Meteorological Organisation.
As the visualisation helps readers see the change in temperature at a glance, the study examined how they can be used to make the stark comparison of global temperatures immediately obvious.
The climate stripes show the change in average annual global temperatures since 1850; red stripes indicate hotter years and blue stripes indicate cooler years.
The climate stripes have become a global symbol for climate change, appearing on buildings, clothing, and even at famous landmarks like Times Square in New York and the White Cliffs of Dover.
New stripes for countries, cities, and regions all over the world, updated with temperature data from 2024 have been published.
Graphics for more than 800 cities and 181 countries can be downloaded for free.
People are encouraged to share stripes for their city or country on Show Your Stripes Day 2025 on Saturday, 21 June.
The annual event sees people share the graphics online.
Professor Ed Hawkins, Professor in Climate Science at the University of Reading, creator of the climate stripes and lead author of the study, said: “Warming is clear throughout our entire climate system, from the depths of our oceans to the atmosphere above.
“These new ocean and atmosphere stripes help anyone, regardless of their scientific background, to see and understand what’s happening to our climate.
“The consistency of warming across different parts of Earth’s climate system should leave no doubt that we’re facing a critical moment that requires urgent action.”
A copy of the paper is available to view via: journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals
Copies of the climate stripes visualisation are available for different datasets via: showyourstripes.info
