A new graph – made up of blue and red stripes – summarizes more than a century of changes in temperature Saint John and shows a clear trend: Puerto Rico is warming up. Visualization is part of the initiative #ShowYourStripesreleased this Saturday, June 20, by the non-profit organization Climate Centralto raise awareness about the effects of climate change.
“Puerto Rico is not cooling as much as before”said, in reaction to the image, the meteorologist Ernesto Moralesnotice coordinator National Weather Service.
According to Morales, “we arrived at 9:00 at night with temperatures of 80 degrees (Fahrenheit), when before it dropped to 77 degrees. When the sun rises, it is already at 90 degrees. The worrying thing is not so much the increase in temperature, but rather how long we are exposed to that high temperature.”.
This warming pattern is dangerous, since the population is air-conditioned. “Our great-grandparents could endure working 12 hours under the sun. We have air conditioning where we live, where we shop, where we work, even in our vehicles. “We are not used to prolonged heat.”he pointed out.
For Morales, this last point has become clearer thanks to his collaboration with Dr. Pablo Mendez Lazaroof the School of Public Health of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Ricowho has observed increases in hospitalizations and deaths due to extreme heat on the island.
But the impact of warming goes beyond individual health, as it also increases the probability of extreme atmospheric events. “If you warm the ocean, you help give hurricanes more fuel to form. A hot atmosphere can hold more moisture, which can generate extreme rainfall events,” the meteorologist said.
The #ShowYourStripes initiative, created by the climate scientist Ed Hawkins and adopted by organizations such as Climate Central, seeks to visually communicate the global warming.
Each graph shows how temperature has changed in a region over the past 100+ years. In San Juan, the average temperature, in 2025, was 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the average between 1901 and 2000.
The bands represent the average temperature for a particular year, blue if it was lower than the total average or red if it was higher. According to the data, Puerto Rico has not had a cooling year since 1963. The hottest year on record was 2024, when the temperature rose 4.3 degrees more than the 20th century average. The data is reported only for San Juan.
Climate Central’s goal is for these graphics to create conversations between citizens about the climate impact in their community. Also, the entity wants to highlight how the climate has been warming globally in an easy to understand way.
Morales summed it up like this: “By ignoring the problem and not protecting our natural resources, we are accelerating the process. This project helps raise public awareness that this is happening and we have to do something”.