Tuesday, April 25, 2023

The World is Getting Hotter

Half of the people in the world have experienced all-time record temperatures in the last ten years. As a direct result of global heating in just the last decade more than half the world has experienced the highest ever temperature recorded at their location.

Carbon Brief has visualized where in the world locations recorded their highest daily record in each year in the last decade. As you scroll through the map you progress back through the last ten years (2013-2022). The red areas on the map show the areas which have experienced a record high temperature. A percentage total in the bottom right-hand corner of the map shows the percentage of the world which has experienced record heat. As you progress through the last ten years this total increases, until in 2013 it shows that 38.8% of the world's surface has experienced a record temperature in the last ten years.

According to Carbon Brief "approximately 6.3 billion people live in areas that have seen all-time record heat over the past 30 years" (the global population is estimated at 7.888 billion). Carbon Brief has also created a map which overlays a global population density layer on top of places which have recorded record heats in the last decade. 

This map reveals that India (one of the most densely populated countries) has experienced few record temperatures in the last decade. However over populated areas, such as western Europe, have experienced many record temperatures over those same ten years.

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