Greta Thunberg wraps warming stripes on cover of new book

A new book by climate activist Greta Thunberg will feature warming stripes created by Professor Ed Hawkins on its cover.

Professor Hawkins’ warming stripes image will be used as the cover for The Climate Book. The new publication by Greta Thunberg includes contributions from more than 100 experts, activists, and witnesses to tell the story of how and why our planet is changing.

The ‘Warming Stripes’ are a gradient graph that runs from blue to red. It illustrates how average global temperatures have changed over the past centuries, and soared in recent decades. Each stripe corresponds to an accurate data point, with the right-hand stripe representing today’s readings. The stripes extend backwards in time across the jacket from right to left, with the front cover showing 1850-2021.

Professor Ed Hawkins is an NCAS climate scientist at the University of Reading, and was a lead author for the recent Woking Group 1 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He said:

“The warming stripes show the stark reality of how quickly the planet has heated over the past few decades, combining billions of scientific measurements into one striking image. The stripes do not show our future, which is still entirely in our hands – the faster we act the smaller the climate consequences will be.

“We have to start some serious conversations about climate change and its solutions, and The Climate Book is sure to get people talking.”

The Climate Book will be published by Allen Lane in October 2022.