Global Warming Stripes for Pride (#ShowYourStripes)
The rainbow flag for Pride has appeared in many different versions over the years, with variation in colour or pattern carrying different meanings or representing particular identities within the LGBTQ+ community. For Pride 2022 I have made versions of LGBTQ+ flags linking my interest in diveristy to my research on global warming.
The stripes on the flags are the Global Warming Stripes (#ShowYourStripes) created in their current form by my colleague Professor Ed Hawkins at the University of Reading. They were based on a blanket knitted by Professor Ellie Highwood, although the earliest know version was created by Joan Sheldon. They vividly show how global average temperatures have risen over the last 170 years, including a dramatic rise over recent decades.
Here are the global warming stripes in the colours of some different pride flags:
One feature of the data in which I am interested is the warm band around the middle of each image. This corresponds to World War 2. There is an unresolved question as to how much of this warmth is real - it mainly appears in the sea temperature data, and there were massive changes to shipping fleets and operating practices during the war. One way I have examined this question is by comparing coastal weather station observations to readings from passing ships.
Back to my YSBL page.
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