From blue to red, from rich to rare: What are warming stripes telling us?
As another summer brings record-breaking temperatures across much of Europe, one question becomes increasingly difficult to ignore: what story is our planet trying to tell us? The answer can be found in a deceptively simple graphic known as the Warming Stripes: a visual representation that condenses nearly two centuries of temperature data into a sequence of coloured bands.
Warming Stripes: Reading the Colours of a Changing Climate
Source: showyourstripes.info
Observed each year through Show Your Stripes Day, the Warming Stripes illustrate an important reality: no region of the world is immune to the effects of climate change. Available for more than 200 countries, regions, and cities, the graphics allow people to explore how temperatures have changed in their own location over time, making climate data both personal and easy to understand.
Created by climate scientist Professor Ed Hawkins, the Warming Stripes use a minimalist sequence of coloured bands, shifting from cooler blues to warmer reds, to communicate long-term temperature trends without the need for complex graphs or technical explanations. Their simplicity has made them one of the most recognisable climate communication tools worldwide, adopted by researchers, educators, policymakers, artists, and citizens alike.
Beyond illustrating rising temperatures, the concept has since evolved to visualise a range of environmental indicators, including sea-level rise, greenhouse gas emissions, soil moisture, glacier retreat, and biodiversity. In doing so, it demonstrates how data visualisation can bridge the gap between scientific evidence and public understanding.
When climate change meets biodiversity loss
Source: biodiversitystripes.info
The introduction of Biodiversity Stripes adds another layer to this story, revealing the steady decline of wildlife populations and ecosystem health. Together with the Warming Stripes, they illustrate that climate change and biodiversity loss are not parallel crises but interconnected.
This relationship is particularly evident in agriculture. Biodiversity supports the ecosystem services on which food production depends, including pollination, natural pest control, nutrient cycling, soil formation, water regulation, and carbon sequestration. At the same time, rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events disrupt habitats and species interactions, placing additional stress on agricultural landscapes. As biodiversity declines, farming systems can become less resilient and more vulnerable to environmental shocks.
Yet biodiversity friendly farming is also part of the solution. Maintaining hedgerows, protecting species-rich grasslands, restoring wetlands, diversifying crop rotations, and adopting agroecological practices all contribute to healthier ecosystems while strengthening the resilience of farms. These measures highlight that productive agriculture and biodiversity conservation can advance together.
How FarmBioNet helps?
Transforming knowledge into practical solutions is the guiding principle of FarmBioNet. Through its National Networks, the project brings together farmers, researchers, advisors, policymakers, and other stakeholders to exchange experience and identify effective approaches for enhancing biodiversity across European farmland.
FarmBioNet supports the demonstration and wider uptake of management practices that are scientifically robust, economically viable, and adaptable to diverse local contexts. By promoting peer-to-peer learning and evidence-based decision-making, the project helps farmers implement measures that improve soil health, encourage beneficial insects, reduce erosion, and increase the resilience of agricultural systems in the face of a changing climate.
The warming and biodiversity stripes may appear as simple bands of colour, but together they tell a profound story about the future of our landscapes. Their message is clear: protecting biodiversity and addressing climate change are inseparable goals. By fostering collaboration and sharing practical knowledge, FarmBioNet is helping ensure that European agriculture remains productive, resilient, and rich in biodiversity for generations to come.