<p>I'm trying to help a general audience understand some important climate numbers, starting with the fact that we're about 1.14°C warmer than pre-industrial.  Is it helpful context or misleading oversimplification to say:</p>
<p>Global mean temperature at the peak of the last ice age was 4&deg;C or 5&deg;C cooler than pre-industrial, so we are about a quarter of the way toward a world that could be as different, but in the warmer direction, as when most of North America was glaciated.
<p>where 4&deg;C is via https://climatefeedback.org/explainer-how-the-rise-and-fall-of-co2-levels-influenced-the-ice-ages/,<br>
4&deg;C or maybe 5&deg;C is via p42 at https://open.oregonstate.education/climatechange/open/download?type=pdf, and<br>
1.14&deg;C is via page 4 of https://library.wmo.int/doc_num.php?explnum_id=11593

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2023-08-21T17:33:39.473Z
I always use the fact that at 4 degrees cooler than preindustrial, where New York city is now, was underneath a gigantic ice sheet, aka a glacier. So for a rough comparison the climate difference between Greenland and present day New York is 4 degrees globally.
John
<climate><education>
How to contextualize climate "1.14C warmer than pre-industrial" for a general audience
john
# How to contextualize climate "1.14C warmer than pre-industrial" for a general audience

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-08-20)

I'm trying to help a general audience understand some important climate numbers, starting with the fact that we're about 1.14°C warmer than pre-industrial. Is it helpful context or misleading oversimplification to say:

Global mean temperature at the peak of the last ice age was 4°C or 5°C cooler than pre-industrial, so we are about a quarter of the way toward a world that could be as different, but in the warmer direction, as when most of North America was glaciated.

where 4°C is via https://climatefeedback.org/explainer-how-the-rise-and-fall-of-co2-levels-influenced-the-ice-ages/,  
4°C or maybe 5°C is via p42 at https://open.oregonstate.education/climatechange/open/download?type=pdf, and  
1.14°C is via page 4 of https://library.wmo.int/doc\_num.php?explnum\_id=11593

**Tags:** climate, education

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I always use the fact that at 4 degrees cooler than preindustrial, where New York city is now, was underneath a gigantic ice sheet, aka a glacier. So for a rough comparison the climate difference between Greenland and present day New York is 4 degrees globally.  

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## 0 answers

