Look closely. Ask what an image can tell us, and what needs a longer record.
Climate in focus
A short visual introduction
A silent ClimateCrisis educational visual, with captions. This is not a film trailer.
Transcript
Observe the world. A photograph captures a moment. Measurements reveal change over time. Compare evidence, understand impacts, and choose informed action.
Read images critically
- Look for a date, location and explanation of what was measured.
- Distinguish a photograph from a model, illustration or time series.
- Check whether two images use comparable seasons and viewpoints.
Go deeper into the evidence · About the film
Use a visual evidence checklist
Begin with the caption. A useful caption identifies the place, date, creator and what the visual actually represents. An image of an unfamiliar landscape without those details is difficult to interpret responsibly, however striking it looks.
For a temperature map, check whether the colours represent surface temperature, air temperature or a difference from a reference period. For a glacier comparison, check the camera position, season and source of both photographs. For a chart, read the axes and units before describing its pattern.
A short group activity
- Choose one image on this page and describe only what is visible.
- Read its caption and separate that supplied context from your own interpretation.
- Write a question that the image alone cannot answer.
- Find a measurement or primary source that could help answer the question.
Our short video is an educational visual with a text transcript, not footage from An Inconvenient Truth or an official trailer. If the player cannot load, the transcript carries its message. Credits for the scientific images appear with each figure; follow those links for the original context and reuse conditions.