Shifting Baselines and the Elusiveness of Climate Change

What it shows

Why does gradual climate change go unnoticed? The piece compares what each generation in Germany has experienced as normal: hot days per year rose from about 4 for Baby Boomers to about 9 for Gen Z, and frost days fell by about 16 over the period.

What I did

Data Journalism Team Lead at Earth.Org (January 2020 to January 2022), leading a volunteer data team of between 5 and 15 people. For each piece I conceptualised it, did the research and directed the number crunching and the final design. A graphic designer handled final production. Data analysis by Daniel Müller-Komorowska.

Data and methods

Daily weather records from the German weather service since 1946. Hot days are days at or above 30°C and frost days are days with a minimum below 0°C, averaged over the early life of each generation (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z).

Full sources are listed in the original article.

Tools

Python and Adobe Illustrator.

Who I worked with

Earth.Org's data team was made up of volunteer contributors from around the world, between 5 and 15 people at a time. Data analysis by Daniel Müller-Komorowska.

Limits

The article says plainly that one country and one metric over a short period cannot demonstrate climate change on their own. It illustrates a perception effect that the wider research has established.