24 March 2023… NBCU Fellows Academy Workshop (Presentation): Telling data-driven climate stories, The City College of New York, USA. Remote Presentation.

1. TELLING DATA-DRIVEN
CLIMATE STORIES
Zachary Labe, PhD
Climate Scientist at NOAA GFDL & Princeton University
zachary.labe@noaa.gov
The City College of New York – 24 March 2023 – Journalism and The Climate Change Narrative

2. RESEARCHER
Climate signal vs. weather noise
@ZLabe
COMMUNICATOR
RESEARCHER
Arctic climate change
STORYTELLER
Simple, bold data visualization
ZACHARY LABE
Climate Scientist at Princeton University & NOAA GFDL
@ZLabe
https://zacklabe.com/

3. The Arctic is warming more than 3 times
faster than the global average!

4. The Arctic is warming more than 3 times
faster than the global average!

6. NOW
Start of
satellite-era

7. The Arctic.

9. Observing ice.

10. Ice-covered
No Ice

12. Carbon
Brief;
Tom
Prater,
2020

14. NATURAL CLIMATE VARIABILIITY

15. Temperature

16. Temperature
Time (Years)
Temperature

17. Temperature
Time (Years)
Temperature
Trend
Trend

18. Temperature Average

19. Temperature Average

20. Temperature Anomaly
Below Average

21. Temperature Anomaly
Above Average

22. Internal (Natural) Variability
No climate change

23. Climate Change

24. Climate (Forced) Change
Except it is probably not linear…

25. Climate (Forced) Change
Internal Variability

26. Climate (Forced) Change
Internal Variability
El Niño
La Niña
Volcano
Negative
AMO
Positive
PDO
Positive
AMO

27. Climate (Forced) Change
Internal Variability
El Niño
La Niña
Volcano
Negative
AMO
Positive
PDO
Positive
AMO

28. Climate (Forced) Change
Future change

29. Internal Variability Natural Variability
Volcanoes
Solar Activity
Orbital Cycles
Aerosols
El Niño-Southern Oscillation
Atlantic Multidecadal Variability
Pacific Decadal Variability
Southern Annular Mode
Northern Annular Mode
Forced Change
Burning of fossil fuels Aerosols, land use/land change

30. WHY?

31. Mostly the
ocean

33. ANNUAL TEMPERATURES
Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)
Time

34. Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)

35. Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)

36. Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)

37. Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)

38. Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)

39. Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)

40. Temperature
Anomaly
(°C)

42. The reality…
El Niño
La Niña
Volcano
Negative
AMO
Positive
PDO
Positive
AMO
Extreme
Event
Extreme
Event
Extreme
Event

43. Looking ahead.

44. October-November – Relative to the years of 1951-1980
Our planet
without change…

45. It’s not
too late!

46. Observed Arctic
temperatures from
1950 to 2021
Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

47. Simulated historical
Arctic temperatures
from 1930 to 2014
using a climate model
Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

48. Simulated Arctic temperatures
from 1930 to 2100 using a
climate model WITHOUT human-
caused climate change
Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

49. What influences of climate
change do you see on
temperatures in the Arctic?
Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

50. Projected future Arctic
temperatures from
2015 to 2100 using a
climate model with
increases in fossil fuel
development
Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

51. Projected future Arctic
temperatures from 2015 to
2100 using a climate model
with moderate progress in
mitigation and other
sustainability goals
Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

52. Projected future Arctic
temperatures from 2015 to
2100 using a climate model
with a rapid reduction in
current emissions globally
Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

53. Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020
It’s not
too late!

54. Climate
Model
–
GFDL
SPEAR
(30
ensemble
members);
Delworth
et
al.
2020

55. What about
extremes?

58. https://www.carbonbrief.org/mapped-how-climate-change-affects-extreme-weather-around-the-world/

59. https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-the-lack-of-diversity-in-climate-science-research/

61. https://www.carbonbrief.org/global-south-climate-database/

63. DATA VISUALIZATION
IS STORY-TELLING.
Arctic temperature anomalies from 1950 to 2021

64. VISUALIZING
GLOBAL
TEMPERATURE
CHANGE

66. PLOT BY ED HAWKINS

67. 2016 RIO OLYMPICS OPENING CEREMONY

69. PLOT BY ED HAWKINS

70. PLOT BY ED HAWKINS
DON’T BE
SUCH A
SCIENTIST
WE ARE
DATA
SCIENTISTS

72. https://showyourstripes.info/

73. THE CLIMATE IS
CHANGING
IN REAL-TIME.
Considering a global view of
temperatures relative to
average – placing weather in
the context of climate

74. THE ARCTIC IS
CHANGING
IN REAL-TIME.
Daily Arctic temperature in
2018 (red) compared to
every year since 1958 in the
month of February. Average
is shown by the white line.

75. THIS IS AN
OPPORTUNITY
TO COMMUNICATE

77. 2016
Average

78. THIS IS AN
OPPORTUNITY
TO SHARE STORIES.

80. START A
CONVERSATION.

81. [International
Arctic
Research
Center
[IARC;
University
of
Alaska,
Fairbanks]

82. My
Dashboard

83. My
Dashboard

84. Crystal Polar Cruise, Aug. 2016
Is this effective
communication?

85. Crystal Serenity Polar Cruise, Aug. 2016

86. Crystal Polar Cruise, Aug. 2016
We need scientists.
We need educators.
We need innovators.
We need communicators.

87. Sharing climate change and extreme events in real-time.
Supporting climate resilience and environmental justice.
Identifying climate impacts with data-driven visualizations.
Using a diversity of voices to communicate.
Questions!
Zachary Labe | 24 March 2023| zachary.labe@noaa.gov
@ZLabe
https://zacklabe.com/