Global Temperatures Spiral Out of Control in New Climate Change

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio has been released for public distribution, this amazing resource demonstrates how climate change is spiraling out of control.

A winding coil of global temperatures spanning 1880 to 2021 is practically a maelstrom of menace.

The animation is based on data from NASA's GISS Surface Temperature Analysis and was designed by climate scientist Ed Hawkins.

GIS Temperature Spiral

The GISTEMP climate spiral 1880-2021. (NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio)

Hawkins, who works at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom, is interested in organizing climate data in ways that are easily understood and remembered by the public.

The visualization presents monthly global temperature anomalies between the years 1880-2021. These temperatures are based on the GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP v4), an estimate of global surface temperature change. Anomalies are defined relative to a base period of 1951-1980. The data file used to create this visualization can be accessed here.

The Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) is a NASA laboratory managed by the Earth Sciences Division of the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. The laboratory is affiliated with Columbia University’s Earth Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York.

The 'climate spiral' is a visualization designed by climate scientist Ed Hawkins from the National Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Reading. Climate spiral visualizations have been widely distributed, a version was even part of the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Climate Spiral - Global WarmingLateral view of the climate spiral. (NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio)

The spiral can be found online at NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio.

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