Terramedic and Warming Stripes
What We Do
Terramedic turns awareness into action by connecting people who want to heal our planet with meaningful ways to make a difference.
What are Warming Stripes?
Terramedic promotes warming stripes everywhere we go because they communicate the story of a warming world so powerfully and simply.
Created by climate scientist Ed Hawkins in 2018, warming stripes represent the average temperature for individual years, relative to the average temperature over a baseline period, typically 1961-2010. Red stripes represent years that were warmer than the baseline average, from lighter to deeper tones for the bigger differences. Blue stripes show the same for cooler years. Together, they paint the picture of a warming planet.
The stripes buttons at Terramedic events help people get involved. The first step is wearing one and telling people what it means. The second step is up to you.
Graphics and lead scientist: Ed Hawkins, NCAS, UoR. Data: Berkeley Earth & ERA5-Land, NOAA, UK Met Office, MeteoSwiss, DWD, SMHI, UoR & ZAMG.
The Science
Behind the Stripes
The data used to create warming stripes comes from multiple scientific sources, including: NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, UK Met Office Hadley Centre, and the Berkeley Earth Surface Temperature project. These organizations maintain long-term temperature records using thousands of weather stations around the world, as well as ocean data from ships and buoys. Even with slight differences between these datasets, they all show the same overall pattern: a rapid warming trend, especially since the 1980s.
Take Action Now
You can help heal our planet right now by volunteering your time or supporting organizations making a difference. Every contribution matters. Choose a path here to get started.