Heat: Maps of Temperature
Data, Graphs, and Maps
Grades6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Earth and Space Sciences, Geography
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 →
Provided by Probable Futures
What it is
- This beautifully designed interactive world heat map from Probable Futures allows students to see how different global warming scenarios will impact the temperature around the world.
- Students can read stories, which are tagged on the map, about how global warming is affecting people and their environments.
Teaching tips
Positives
- This map is very simple and intuitive while providing an impressive amount of information.
- Clicking the question mark in the top right-hand corner of the screen will lead students on a helpful tour of the resource.
- Temperatures are provided in both Celsius and Fahrenheit.
Prerequisites
- Clicking on the circular "i" icon will provide more information, which is especially helpful for the "wet-bulb" data sets.
- Students should pay close attention to how the legend changes when they choose a new data set.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Middle school science, geography, or math classes could assign students specific cities to research using this resource. Instruct students to zoom in on their city and click on a box to get specific data. Students can record the average temperature for each warming scenario and then make a line graph to show how the average temperature is expected to change as the global temperature rises.
- Biology and health classes could discuss why wet-bulb days are dangerous for humans.
- Other resources on this topic include this IPCC video on the potential impacts of global warming reaching 1.5°C, this article on the increase in wet-bulb temperatures, and this video on the rising temperatures in Jacobabad, Pakistan.
From the scientist review
The resource models warming scenarios to enable students to compare past, recent, and future climates. It provides the assumption that modeling the climate at different levels of warming works better than providing specific dates. Understanding the number of heat days at different latitudes can help us to design specific adaptation strategies at different levels to offset risks of uncertain weather patterns. This map is recommended for teaching.
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