We tell you the story of “Warming Stripes”, the best map to understand global warming.

We saw them at ElishaA government seminar And A post-hardcore rock concert. has Fashion shows And in a recent report by the IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. On that day The face of the new Chilean presidentGabriel Boric and others Beer cans. around The neck of a big financial tycoon And on Climate march cards. On that day A soccer jersey And on The cover of activist Greta Thunberg’s latest book.

This list can be continued for a long time: “heating lines”Or “global warming bands” in French, have spread everywhere since they were coined in 2018 by British climatologist Ed Hawkins, 45. “I never imagined I’d ever go to London Fashion Week or shoot for a football shirt. It’s not on the normal list of activities for a climatologist.”, he eepemizes. franceinfo tells you the story of these successful bands at the COP27 event in Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt) from November 6 to 18.

In the beginning there is a child and a crochet “slave”. Ellie Highwood, a fellow Ed Hawkins scientist, prepares a blanket as a baby shower gift for a colleague’s daughter. She decides to take inspiration from a very common practice among “crocheters”: making a row a day and choosing the color based on the temperature or the color of the sky at that time. “I was wondering what the global temperature series would look like in a blanket. And since global warming is often explained by comparing greenhouse gases to a blanket, it was interesting to make the connection.”She explained that day His blog. A few months ago, another scientist, American Joan Shelton Similar idea.

Well, I’m a hookah addict. This is my “global warming blanket” – colored lines according to the last 100 years of t anomaly… pic.twitter.com/dm9P7cLvzd

— Ellie Highwood (she/her) (@EllieHighwood) June 10, 2017

This is where Ed Hawkins comes in. The scientist from the University of Reading (United Kingdom), a co-author of the last two IPCC reports, has long been interested in the best way to represent global warming. “I made scenes that I thought were brilliant, but nobody liked them”, he jokes. her “Climate Spiral” So not going beyond special circles. A year after seeing his colleague’s card, he reintroduced the principle by simplifying the color coding. In blue, years with cooler than average temperatures between 1971 and 2000. In red, warmer years. The result clearly shows the warming observed in recent years as a result of human activities (oil, coal and gas consumption, deforestation). Success is immediate: within a week, The Heating lines Downloaded a million times Site set up for the event.

How to explain such success? Ed Hawkins says the beauty of these strips and their simplicity (they’re stripped of prints and numbers), makes them understandable. “For those who don’t like math or science in school”. Scientist Melissa Komis, who worked on the graphics for the latest IPCC report as a member of the technical team, praised the highly successful visual communication exercise. “They contain scientific data, but it’s almost a work of art. The goal is not to communicate the concept of temperature anomaly used here, it’s to give a sense of climate change.”Describes this expert in graphic visualizations.

“It is universal: the Nobel Prize in Physics and the graph can be understood by people far from science.”

Melissa Komis, Scientific Visualization Specialist

At franceinfo

Simple to understand, strips are readily available at all scales (world, country, city) and in any type of media. Even Ed Hawkins came up with a version Different climate futures evolve based on our choices and decisions. Her colleague Valérie Masson-Delmotte doesn’t just use them in her presentations in government or schools. Hawkins will often wear them as a scarf as a gift at COP26 in Glasgow in 2021. “When I take the RER, people call me about this scarf and tell me ‘hey, it’s a climate barcode’ without knowing me”The co-chair of Panel 1 of the IPCC testifies. “It’s very rare for a scientific subject to enter popular culture.”

Just step outside the stadium doors of the city’s professional football team, Reading FC, where Ed Hawkins works, to be convinced of this reality. The English Second Division club’s jersey sleeves for the 2022-2023 season are being reduced by local temperature evolution bands. The idea was hatched during a video conference with the university. “I saw the lines behind him and I thought it was a painting, but he explained to me what they meant”Tim Kilpatrick, Reading FC’s commercial director, recalled.

It is he who proposes to display them on the shirt. “With the university, we wanted this message to reach a new audience, in this case our supporters.”, continues the business director. The choice is the most visible part of a series of decisions to reduce the club’s environmental footprint: photovoltaic panels, a “climate” score for the different menus served in the stadium, recycled polyester jerseys…

Discovered by fashion designer Lucy Dhamma Heating lines Thanks friend. The 39-year-old entrepreneur, who claims a “sustainable” and ecological approach, immediately wanted to create clothes. “My first goal is to create beautiful, eco-friendly clothing. I also love the idea of ​​using fashion as a pathway to activism and education.”, she assures via email. Bands are available today Dresses, scarves, shawls and coats. “Most of the reactions have been positive and people are happy to discover ‘Stripes’ in this way.”Designer says.

Positive reactions, what next? Tangible benefits Heating lines It is difficult to estimate. “Millions of people have seen them and used them. It’s very hard to say if it’s made any difference.” Ed Hawkins in a nutshell. Instead, he sees his map as a new tool “Toolbox” to contact and “Start a conversation” About global warming. British scientist tells how an American, who was covered His electric car with bandsIt managed to spark debates on the subject at motor shows. “I think it’s more effective than just getting a lesson on the topic. People are more interested in asking questions.”Climatologist assures.

“It’s a way to talk about climate in different social circles. That’s what the climate community in general is supposed to do: promote that conversation in other circles.”

Ed Hawkins, Climatologist

At franceinfo

The warming tapes were licensed free of charge to encourage wider distribution. “People can use it, we can’t say no”, Ed Hawkins summarizes. Reassure him that he does not have negative examples in mind, but risk Green washing, i.e. their use by non-environmental actors to green their image. For example, we can observe that Reading Football Club does not stop renewing its range of shirts every season, a practice that encourages its supporters to consume. Larry Fink, the all-powerful boss of BlackRock Asset Management Group, wore a colorful scarf. Heating lines In 2020, it announced short-term support for pro-climate stakeholders at the end of May. the world.

Despite this blind spot, the approach has provided ideas for biodiversity advocates. Miles Richardson, Professor of Psychology at the University of Derby (United Kingdom), created this summer of “Biodiversity Lines” To calculate the population decline of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles. “Nature’s green-to-gray color represents loss, as species disappear. The world becomes gray and urban.”, details of the concerned person. The data comes from the NGO WWF’s Living Planet Index.

impressed @ed_hawkins I have made some biodiversity lines using climate lines @LPI_Science Data showing how an average 68% decline in the population of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles since 1970 has traveled from green to gray: https://t.co/JklYjlUQCo pic.twitter.com/dPmeyN7Qjn

— Miles Richardson (@findingnature) August 10, 2022

The scientist embarked on this visualization because he regrets biodiversity “The Bad Relationship of Global Warming, It’s Too Much Manipulated in the Media”. Miles Richardson hopes his graphic will enjoy the same success Heating lines From Ed Hawkins: “Both are environmental crises that ultimately threaten human existence.”