Little Pictures are data-driven images that distill complex science and prompt climate action by using satellite-derived climate data records from the European Space Agency, EUMETSAT and reanalyses from ECWMF Copernicus Climate Change Service.

This Little Picture illustrates the reduction of a few glaciers in south-west Switzerland (specifically, the area that spans from the Theodul to the Mellichgletscher glaciers). The Area Chart is designed to resemble a mountain skyline, with the height shifting based on extension of the glacier over time.

The glacier area was calculated in QGIS, with the shapefile data from years 1850, 1931, 1973, 2010, and 2016. Chart powered by RAWGraph, composition in Figma (standard competition layout).

Data from: https://github.com/littlepictures/datasets/tree/main/glaciers 

Complete Swiss glaciers data: https://www.glamos.ch

The results were judged by representatives of each organization plus leading data journalist Matthias Stahl of Der Spiegel newspaper and Professor Ed Hawkins of the University of Reading (Show Your Stripes). Out of 500+ entries, the judges selected 10 runners-up and one winner, who displayed the contribution at the UN’s COP28 climate conference.

You can have a look at the other selected data visualizations here: