Summer Heat

Abstract

Summers have always been hot, but we are experiencing exceedingly intensive heat across the world. Global temperature records break headlines more frequently thanks to anthropogenic climate change. In response to the deadly heatwave of 2020—which engulfed Europe with record-breaking temperatures and caused tens of thousands of deaths—artist and climate activist Diane Burko created Summer Heat. This 7 × 13 ft painting illustrates the causes and effects of climate change clashing into each other by displaying the Earth’s continents underneath splashes of red and blue, which reflect on the EU record-breaking heat and melting glaciers, dripping across the canvas, juxtaposed with the iconic Keeling curve that presents the accumulation of CO₂ in the Earth’s atmosphere based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory since 1958. This artwork was further used in a study and showed its positive influence on bridging political divisions in climate change.