Website shows climate graphics for 112 Australian locations

A new website that visualises climate change data from 112 locations around Australia started life as a set of drink coasters. Researchers Dr Mitchell Whitelaw and Dr Geoff Hinchcliffe from the Australian National University (ANU) School of Art and Design specialise in creating objects that provide a tangible representation of data. In late 2017 the pair approached the ANU Climate Change Institute with the idea of collaborating on a small tangible visualisations for the Institute's 2018 State of the Climate event. Sitting on desks, bars or tables, the aim of the coaster was to prompt discussion and reflection on Australia's rapidly changing climate. The coasters, which visualise 12 months of climate data against long term averages for Australian capital cities, proved so popular that the researchers decided to build a website showing the same visualisation for more than 100 different locations around the country.   "Everyone at the event was captivated," Dr Hinchcliffe said. "People were handling them, smelling them, asking about them, and everyone wanted more copies.