A word that gets heavier.
A single word, set in Fraunces Variable, whose font weight follows the global temperature anomaly. The Earth is warming. The type is too. NASA GISS data, 1880 to today.
What you see
The word is a single Fraunces glyph block. Its variable-font weight axis is wired to the temperature anomaly for the selected year. At 0°C above pre-industrial, the type sits at weight 100. Each tenth of a degree adds weight. At today's anomaly, the type is heavy and physical.
Why a word, not a chart
A line chart shows the same data, but the eye treats it as one more diagram. Type that gains weight is felt before it is read. The body knows what heavy means.
Baseline
Anomalies are shown relative to the 1880-1909 mean, a common stand-in for pre-industrial conditions. NASA GISS itself uses 1951-1980 as its native baseline; I shift it so the historical zero point sits at the very start of the time series.
1.5°C threshold
The Paris Agreement's 1.5°C target sits at weight 750 on the type. The 2°C upper bound at weight 800. 2024 set a new record at roughly 1.5°C in this scale.
- NASA GISS Surface Temperature Analysis (GISTEMP v4). Annual Land-Ocean Temperature Index.
- WMO State of the Global Climate (2024). Confirms anomalies relative to 1850-1900 baseline.