The Initiative
The Problem
970 cities
projected to hit 35C average summer highs by 2050
What We're Doing
8 million+
temperature recordings across the NHM gardens
From Insight to Action
Species level
fine-tuning strategies from plant selection to soil cover
Controls
SELECTED YEAR
CITIES ≥ 35°C
Site Details
Stats
Projected Peak Temperature by City
Controls
CITIES
London, Reading, Tring
Summary
Annual Hottest 90-Day Mean Max Temperature
Measurement Locations
Zoom between three views: the whole world, the United Kingdom, and the Natural History Museum in London.
CURRENT VIEW
Mean Distance Between Devices
Map
Controls
SELECTED TIME (UTC)
Temperature Summary
Soil Temperature by Sensor
Classic urban heat island
Thermal damping
Soil biodiversity by major group
Source: Anthony MA, Bender SF, van der Heijden MGA (2023). Enumerating soil biodiversity . PNAS 120(33):e2304663120. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2304663120
Share of all species living in soil
Excluding phage. Source: Anthony MA, Bender SF, van der Heijden MGA (2023). Enumerating soil biodiversity . PNAS 120(33):e2304663120.
Future climate suitability of NHM garden trees
Controls
Hourly temperatures above this threshold are accumulated into degree days.
Accumulated degree days (2025)
Next steps
- Evolution Garden
- Transition to three-site working
- Laboratory twins