A new global Climate Stripes graphic has been released today, illustrating 2024 as the warmest year ever recorded – surpassing 1.5°C for the first time.
The Climate Stripes, which show the changing average temperature of the Earth over each of the past 175 years, has been updated following the release of the annual global temperature data recorded by a number of institutions, including Nasa and Copernicus Climate Change Service.
Professor Ed Hawkins from the University of Reading created the Climate Stripes to create a striking representation of global warming – with blue stripes representing colder than average yes, and red indicating warmer ones – and bring greater awareness to the issue. This led to the #ShowYourStripes movement, pushing influential figures and organisations to display the stripes to highlight the importance of the problem.
Envision Racing launched a partnership with the Climate Stripes campaign at COP28 in 2023, and have displayed the stripes on our car ever since.
Following the addition of 2024’s stripe, Hawkins said: “The climate stripes tell the story of how the planet has warmed up to now, reflecting our past choices on global carbon emissions. This new dark red stripe represents another year where our actions have caused the world to become warmer than ever before.
“At the current rate, our planet is on a path to routinely exceed the limit that world leaders and scientists understand puts us at much higher risk of climate change with significant impacts. A warmer world will lead to more frequent and intense extreme weather, more ice melting, continued sea level rise, and numerous other impacts on people and societies globally.
“The picture is stark, but we should not lose hope. The climate stripes represent humanity’s understanding of what’s happening now, but they aren’t a prediction of the future. The stripes represent the amalgamation of the work of thousands of scientists over decades, collecting billions of pieces of data into a single image. The same human knowledge and ingenuity is available to help humanity change course. Every action we take now to cut emissions will help to build a better future.”
Sylvain Filippi, Team Principal of Envision Racing, said: “We believe that by showcasing the Climate Stripes on our race car, we can not only draw attention to the critical issue of climate change but also encourage a broader discussion on the role that sports and businesses can play in driving positive environmental change.”
