Climate Shift Index
Provided by: Climate Central|Published on: July 23, 2022|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Data, Graphs, and Maps
Subjects: Earth and Space Sciences
Authors: Climate Central
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This interactive resource allows students to explore temperatures, climate shift index data, and temperature anomalies across the United States for yesterday, today, tomorrow, and the following day.
- Students will be able to work with climate data for specific areas and learn about how climate change is impacting the world.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This interactive map is easy to use and incredibly enlightening.
- Because it is so current and meaningful, students will be engaged with the map.
Prerequisites
- Students should have a basic understanding of climate change.
- There is a link below the map about how Realtime Fingerprints develops tools like climate shift index, which may help students gain a better understanding of the map.
Differentiation & Implementation
- This resource would work equally well in a science or social studies class and would be especially meaningful as a cross-curricular tool between the two classes. Students can choose a region of the country to learn about and use this tool to understand the climate and how the climate is changing there.
- This resource would be a great tool for students to revisit throughout the year and record data.
- Other related resources include the EPA's Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool, Yale's Climate Opinion Map, and NOAA's Data Snapshots Maps.
The CSI tool calculates temperature anomalies under a changing climate in U.S. cities. The model also has limitations as it doesn't aggregate other climate drivers like wind, precipitation, RH, etc, but it is useful to illustrate temperature shifts and global warming patterns. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
