Climate Matters•June 15, 2022
#ShowYourStripes 2022
KEY CONCEPTS
June 21st is the fifth annual #ShowYourStripes day—a time to spread awareness about climate change and rising global temperatures with the iconic Warming Stripes.
Climate Central is celebrating #ShowYourStripes day with updated Warming Stripes graphics for 179 U.S. cities, 49 U.S. states (excluding Hawaii), and the globe.
Warming Stripes graphics represent the change in temperature over the last 100+ years. Each stripe represents one year, and the color corresponds to temperature. Red stripes are years above a long-term average temperature and blue stripes are years below.
June 21st is the fifth annual #ShowYourStripes day.
#ShowYourStripes day is a time to spread awareness about climate change and rising global temperatures with the iconic Warming Stripes.
What are the Warming Stripes?
Climate scientist Ed Hawkins created the Warming Stripes to visualize the long-term rise in global temperatures caused by human activities like burning fossil fuels.
The stripes use annual temperatures to create a simple “striped” visual. Red stripes are years above a long-term average temperature and blue stripes are years below.
Climate Central has updated the stripes graphics to include 2021 data for the globe, 49 U.S. states (excluding Hawaii), and 179 U.S. cities (those with 100+ years of data).
Globally, 2021 was 1.98°F (1.1°C) warmer than the 1881-1910 baseline, which is very close to the internationally-agreed goal of limiting global warming to 2.7°F (1.5°C) above pre-industrial levels.
Get Creative. Think Local. #ShowYourStripes!
Warming stripes have become an iconic climate change symbol worldwide. The distinct red and blue visual can be found on coffee mugs, blankets, clothing, posters, cars, trams, entire buildings, and in print, digital and broadcast media.
There are many ways to #ShowYourStripes on June 21st, or on any day of the year:
Share your state and city stripes on social media, TV broadcasts, and in local climate reporting to illustrate the human-caused warming in your backyard.
Write local stories about how climate change is impacting your area. Visit our resource library for local graphics and stories on a wide range of topics like summer temperatures, pollen, or the impact of climate change on mental health.
LOCAL EXPERTS
The SciLine service, 500 Women Scientists or the press offices of local universities may be able to connect you with local scientists who have expertise on climate change. The American Association of State Climatologists is a professional scientific organization composed of all state climatologists.
NATIONAL EXPERTS
Ed Hawkins, PhD
Creator of Warming Stripes
Climate Scientist, University of Reading
Contact: e.hawkins@reading.ac.uk
METHODOLOGY
The Warming Stripes design was conceived by Ed Hawkins, as described here. Stripes for stations and states are based on the anomaly from the 20th century average. For a subset of locations where there was no data until after 1901, the anomaly is based on the oldest 100-year average available for that city. Stations with less than 100 years of data were not included. Station data is from Applied Climate Information System and state data is from NCEI Climate at a Glance.