Warming stripes spark climate conversations: from the ocean to the stratosphere

Hawkins, E. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9477-3677, Williams, R. G., Young, P. J., Berardelli, J., Burgess, S. N., Highwood, E., Randel, W., Roussenov, V., Smith, D. and Placky, B. W. (2025) Warming stripes spark climate conversations: from the ocean to the stratosphere. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 106 (5). E964-E970. ISSN 0003-0007 doi: 10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0212.1

Abstract/Summary

The ‘warming stripes’ are an iconic climate data visualisation, adopted globally as a symbol of our warming world. We discuss their origin and uses for communication, including understanding long-term changes in the climate and consequences of future emission choices. We also extend the stripes concept to explore observed temperature variations throughout the climate system, revealing coherent warming for the troposphere and upper ocean, and cooling in the stratosphere, consistent with our understanding of human influences on our climate.