A living record of a changing planet
South of 2° Degrees
Climate change is not one number or one distant future. It is a planetary story already in motion—measured every day.
Original cut-paper artwork · South of 2 Degrees
01 · The signals
The atmosphere,
observed.
Not a forecast. A continuous physical record assembled from measurements.
Carbon dioxide
Mauna Loa Observatory
—ppm
Loading verified data
Read this correctly. Daily values rise and fall with weather and the seasonal carbon cycle. The long record reveals the climate signal.
Measurement note. During the Mauna Loa volcanic interruption, observations from December 2022 through July 4, 2023 came from nearby Maunakea. Chart axes use a clearly labeled focused ppm range rather than zero.
Data retrieval pending.
Methods and context at NOAA GML ↗02 · The mechanism
A thin layer
changes everything.
Earth receives energy from the Sun and releases heat toward space. Greenhouse gases slow part of that outgoing heat. Adding more changes the balance.
incoming
energy
energy
atmosphere
Earth
More heat retained
→ a warmer system
Energy arrives
Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and warms the surface.
Heat moves outward
The warm surface emits infrared energy toward space.
The balance shifts
Additional greenhouse gases retain more heat in the climate system.
03 · Degrees are consequences
There is no
safe side of a line.
Every increment of warming increases hazards. Every fraction of a degree avoided reduces risk.
Lower risk than higher-warming futures—but not harmless.
A political threshold, not a physical cliff. Risks continue on both sides.
More severe, widespread, and increasingly difficult-to-manage impacts.
Source: IPCC · AR6 Synthesis Report ↗
04 · The lived climate
Global change
arrives locally.
Climate hazards move through the systems people depend on: water, food, health, homes, economies, and ecosystems.
05 · What changes the outcome
Agency is also
part of the science.
The future is not one forecast. It is a range shaped by emissions, choices, infrastructure, institutions, and time.
- 01
Cut the flow
Rapidly reduce greenhouse-gas emissions across energy, transport, buildings, industry, and land use.
- 02
Protect people
Adapt to changes already underway and reduce exposure to compounding hazards.
- 03
Remove the remainder
Use durable carbon removal for residual emissions—without treating it as a substitute for cuts.
Sources & methods
Follow the
evidence.
Every major claim should be traceable. These are the primary sources used on this page.
- 01NOAA GML · Mauna Loa CO₂ records ↗
The dashboard uses NOAA’s daily observations for the latest reading and NOAA’s official annual-mean series for the 1959–present trend. Early annual values incorporate Scripps data as documented by NOAA; recent values remain subject to quality control.
- 02NASA · Causes of climate change ↗
Plain-language explanation of the greenhouse effect and human influence.
- 03IPCC · Sixth Assessment Synthesis Report ↗
Assessment of the physical science, impacts, adaptation, and mitigation.
- 04U.S. Global Change Research Program · Fifth National Climate Assessment ↗
Observed and projected climate risks and responses across the United States.
- 05Climate Reanalyzer · Daily sea-surface temperature ↗
Interactive visualization of NOAA OISST v2.1, used here as a design and interpretation reference.
Data policy. The dashboard retrieves official source data on a schedule, validates it, and serves a cached last-known-good observation if a provider is temporarily unavailable.
Editorial policy. Measurements may update automatically. Explanatory claims do not silently rewrite themselves.