Show Your Stripes Day 2026: Using the power of visualisation to drive climate awareness and action

Zenergi’s Net Zero Director, Nick Drake, is helping organisations reduce carbon emissions and progress towards their net zero goals. In this article, he explores the impact of the Climate Stripes and why effective climate communication is essential in driving awareness and action on climate change

Show Your Stripes Day is an annual opportunity to raise awareness of climate change through one of the most powerful and recognisable visualisations ever created: the Climate Stripes.

Over the years, climate scientists have developed thousands of graphs, charts and illustrations to communicate the scale and speed of climate change. Yet few have resonated with the public as effectively as the Climate Stripes. Their simplicity and accessibility have made them a globally recognised symbol of our changing climate.

I had the privilege of meeting Professor Ed Hawkins, the creator of the Climate Stripes, at an event in London in 2024. During our conversation, I congratulated him on the extraordinary success of his creation and pointed out that I was wearing a Climate Stripes badge. Listening to Ed address the audience later that day, it was fascinating to hear him acknowledge that he never imagined such a simple visualisation would become one of the defining symbols of climate change communication around the world.

The success of the Climate Stripes has been truly remarkable. What began as a scientific visualisation has become the image representing global action on climate change; appearing on clothing, artwork, sporting events, public buildings and some of the world’s most iconic landmarks.

The concept itself is elegantly simple. Each stripe represents a year, with colours illustrating how that year’s average temperature compares with the long-term historical average. Cooler-than-average years are shown in shades of blue, while warmer-than-average years appear in shades of red. As the timeline progresses, the transition from predominantly blue stripes to increasingly deep reds tell a compelling story without the need for numbers, graphs or technical explanations.

What becomes immediately apparent when viewing the stripes for any region, country or city is the clear and accelerating warming trend. Unlike traditional climate charts, which can sometimes appear complex or intimidating, the Climate Stripes communicate their message instantly. In a matter of seconds, anyone can recognise the pattern and understand that something significant is happening.

Perhaps the greatest achievement of the Climate Stripes is the ability to transcend scientific knowledge. You do not need to be a climate scientist, or even have a detailed understanding of climate change, to recognise the trend. The visualisation makes it easy to see that we are living in a period of unprecedented warming and that the climate we experience today is already different from that experienced by previous generations.

The Climate Stripes provide a powerful reminder of the challenge facing us all. They encourage us to recognise both the reality of climate change and the importance of accelerating efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By making complex climate data understandable and accessible, they help connect people, communities, organisations and nations around a shared understanding of the need for action.

I encourage everyone to visit the Show Your Stripes website and explore the visualisations available for different countries, regions and cities. You can view data for locations close to home and see how temperatures have changed over time in your own area, making the impacts of climate change even more tangible and relevant.