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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →NASA’s climate spiral GIF turns monthly global temperature anomalies from 1880–2021 into a vivid animation: as the years pass, the line moves outward from a 1951–1980 reference average, showing the long-term shift toward warmer-than-baseline readings. The 2022 visualization drew widespread attention online, but it is a presentation of NASA’s temperature record—not a separate measurement or experiment.
What does NASA’s climate spiral show?
The animation uses monthly data from NASA/GISS GISTEMP v4, an analysis of global surface temperature change. Each point represents a temperature anomaly: the difference from the average for the same reference period, not the absolute temperature of Earth. For NASA’s 2022 version, that baseline is 1951–1980.
The spiral maps the time series onto a circle. Cooler values appear in white and blue, while warmer values appear in red; the animation’s final side-on view makes the changing level easier to see. These choices help viewers interpret the data, but the shape and colors do not constitute an additional climate measurement.
NASA released the 1880–2021 visualization on March 7, 2022, crediting Mark SubbaRao of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and Ed Hawkins of the National Centre for Atmospheric Science at the University of Reading as visualizers. NASA provides the original media and version details on its GISTEMP Climate Spiral record.
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Why did the GIF attract so much attention?
The spiral compresses more than a century of monthly changes into a short, immediately legible animation. The widening movement toward warmer colors makes the overall pattern easier to grasp at a glance than a long table of monthly readings, while still representing a data series.
In a March 17, 2022 report, BGR said that a related NASA video had been shared on March 15 and that the GIF received more than 48,000 Reddit upvotes in one community. That is a historical figure reported by BGR, not a verified current count. BGR’s report describes the colors and the closing side-on view.
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Is the 2022 GIF still NASA’s latest version?
No. The viral version covers 1880–2021. NASA subsequently published an 1880–2022 version and now lists an 1880-present visualization. NASA says the monthly visualization is updated roughly two weeks after each month ends. The record includes Celsius and Fahrenheit versions and different media presentations, including animation, still imagery, and downloadable video. Check NASA’s visualization record for the available versions and assets.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What does the spiral tell us about climate change?
The animation illustrates a pattern in the temperature record; by itself, it does not explain the cause. NASA’s climate overview states: “There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.” NASA explains that human activities drive the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century through the enhanced greenhouse effect. Its overview also describes observed effects including sea-ice loss, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea-level rise, and more intense heat waves. See NASA’s climate-change overview.
GISTEMP is a long-term record assembled from surface-air observations at meteorological stations and sea-surface observations from ships and buoys. The spiral is therefore a visualization of an analysis based on observations, not a satellite-only temperature reading.
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