File talk:Daily Sea Surface Temperatures 60S-60N 1979-2023.png

August 2023 version

An August 2023 version is available at: https://climate.copernicus.eu/sites/default/files/custom-uploads/Page%20Uploads/August%2023%20CB/plot_era5_daily_series_stacked_sst_60S-60N_final.png via https://climate.copernicus.eu/record-high-global-sea-surface-temperatures-continue-august

• good: up to date, showing August 2023.
• alarming: August even higher than record breaking July
• questionable: "previous record from March 2016", as that record was broken end of July 2023
• bad: it does not show the long term warming like the July version does with red, white, blue colour coding for years.

Uwappa (talk) 11:13, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

Hi, @Uwappa: Although I love this style of graphic, I'm not comfortable uploading a new version of it, for copyright reasons. Regardless, it's a good idea to run a file through tinypng.com/tinyjpg.com, or https://cloudconvert.com/compress-png, to reduce file size. RCraig09 (talk) 15:52, 6 September 2023 (UTC)

Hi RCraig09, a free idea of visualizing the same data in another way:

Use the raw data to create a w:Climate_spiral. Credit Copernicus for the source data.

1. temperature as distance to center
2. for age use grey scales, old years dark, recent years light. Or thickness, old years thin, recent years thick. The current graph uses shades of blue, white and red for age, which looks good but only works well if age aligns with long term temperature trend.
3. make lines transparent so older years are visible under recent years

The result will be like looking into an oval shaped tunnel, with old years in the center, recent years near the rim, recent months breaking away from the tunnel.

Do you have the tools to create such a climate spiral?

Would you be comfortable to upload such a climate spiral if you create it yourself? Uwappa (talk) 08:34, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Uploaded new version with August 2023, with same style as previous one, from: https://climate.copernicus.eu/summer-2023-hottest-record Uwappa (talk) 08:58, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

@Uwappa: This chart is not a climate spiral; see Category:Climate spirals.

No, I don't have the tools to readily recreate a good version of this graphic, or a spiral version of the graphic, as there are over 16,000 rows in the Copernicus svg data file.

It is preferable to use smaller-size files, such as using tinypng.com/tinyjpg.com, or https://cloudconvert.com/compress-png RCraig09 (talk) 15:58, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Yes, my idea is to create a w:climate_spiral from the csv with raw data feeding the current line graph.

Let a computer process the 16.000+ lines of the CSV:

1. Split the date into year, month and day, e.g. split 1979-02-28 to 1979, 02, 28.
2. Convert month and day to degrees, going round clockwise, e.g. 1 January at the top, 0 degrees, 1 July at 180 degrees, 31 December at almost 360 degrees.
3. Convert temperature to distance from center, lowest, 19.58 Celcius lowest value, closest to center
4. Convert year to a colour code, oldest, 1979 being the darkest, e.g. black, #000000.

From degrees, distance from center and colour code, create a climate spiral. Add credit for Copernicus source data. This is where the tool comes in.

The result will be similar to replacing the line graph with a climate spiral such as .

I think the climate spiral will be an even stronger graphic than the current line graph. And it will take away your copyright worries. Would Ed Hawkins or one of his students be interested to create an SST spiral? Uwappa (talk) 17:47, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

I think that climate spirals are so "new" that most people will not appreciate them. (Aside: Though Ed Hawkins' climate spirals are older than climate stripes, it is climate stripes that became more popular, I think, because they are more intuitive.) I think the existing Copernicus graphics are more easily understood than spiral graphics.

I'm sorry, I just don't have the motivation to develop software, especially gif (animated, moving) software, for a graphic that is less compelling than existing Copernicus graphics. Ed Hawkins or his associates almost certainly have the necessary software, but I imagine he is very busy. RCraig09 (talk) 19:14, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Let us be optimistic and see a climate spiral as a "perfect illustration of how the climate is spiraling out of control, a simple and effective demonstration of the progression of global warming over time".

The human eye is very good in recognizing odd shapes such as in the arctic ice graphic:

.

The Sep dip is clear and also how ice decreases as years go by.

An SST climate spiral will be spiraling outwards like global temperatures, with an odd oval/egg shape

• a big peak in March,
• a small dip in June
• a small peak in August
• a big dip in November

The high temperatures of recent months will stand out like a thorn.

Yes, Ed Hawkings is probably very busy. He seems like someone who

understands how much energy the oceans have absorbed,

understands that SSTs of recent months are extreme,

understands what effects high SSTs will have],

has experience making people aware of climate change using graphics.

It would not surprise me when he would be keen to create an egg shaped SST climate spiral. It might even go viral. Uwappa (talk) 21:08, 7 September 2023 (UTC)

Why revert to an outdated version?

@Uwappa: What is the reason for reverting to a version that is five months outdated? (I understand the file name mentions 2023, but this can be corrected with a move/rename with redirect to a more future-proof name.) RCraig09 (talk) 06:01, 14 April 2024 (UTC)

See COM:OVERWRITE: For different content, upload a new file with a new file name.

I would welcome such a new chart with a focus on SST records in year specific articles like w:Weather_of_2024 and w:2024_in_climate_change.

Anomalies might be better for showing records, a chart similar to the one at

https://pulse.climate.copernicus.eu/ > Sea temperature > Anomalies

I'd prefer anomalies against a pre-industrial average, making it easier to compare against the +1.5C limit. Uwappa (talk) 11:26, 14 April 2024 (UTC)