Tuesday, January 08, 2019

2018 - the Year of Climate Change


In 2018 the biggest trend in online mapping was climate change. Last year there were numerous interactive maps released designed to visualize how global warming will effect the world in the coming years. These maps visualized the future that we can now expect, including rising sea levelsrising global temperatures, and increasing air pollution.

Alongside these portents of our depressing future there were also numerous maps visualizing the current effects of global warming. This included maps of record breaking temperatures, devastating flooding, hurricane damage and incredible wildfires.

The links above are just a small snapshot of the huge number of climate change related maps posted on Maps Mania during 2018. If you explore the weather and environment tags you will find many, many more.

Unless you are completely hiding your head in the sand you will have noticed the effect that global warming is already having on the world around you. The Guardian certainly noticed that 2018 witnessed more than its fair share of extreme weather events. It has even mapped out the Human Impact of 2018's Climate Disasters.

As you scroll through The Guardian's overview of all the global deadly weather events of 2018 an interactive map is used to show where in the world these events happened. Different markers are used on the map to show whether the displayed events were floods, storms, droughts etc. The map also includes a running total showing the number of global deaths caused by extreme weather in 2018 and the number of people who were effected by these events around the world.

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