This scarf represents the average surface temperature of Earth each year from 1600 to present. One row = one year. Each color represents a 0.2 degree C (about 0.4 degree F) range. The purple color represents the long-term “normal” temperature from 1600-1900, a period with a fairly stable temperature. The blue color indicates years cooler than normal by 0.1-0.3 degrees C. Six increasingly dark shades of red represent warmer years, with the darkest red representing 1.1-1.3 degrees C warmer than normal. Optional silver thread marks every 50th year.

Suggestions for traditional crochet and knitted versions are included.

The original scarf is on exhibit at the DAR Museum in Washington, D.C. through 2024: https://www.dar.org/museum/exhibitions/current-exhibition-1

This project was acknowledged as the origin of the climate stripes visualization here: https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/climate-crisis/who-r...

This project was featured in this article about crafting and data visualization as a response to climate change: https://www.fastcompany.com/90290800/crafting-take-a-dark...