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The Climate Simulator
Drag the CO2 slider and watch it happen: more CO2 molecules in the atmosphere band mean more heat gets bounced back to the surface instead of escaping to space. This is a simplified, illustrative model, not a forecast, built on the same logarithmic CO2-warming relationship climate scientists actually use.
Today (2025 Mauna Loa annual mean)
The warming estimate uses ΔT = TCR × log₂(CO2 ÷ 280), the standard logarithmic relationship between CO2 concentration and warming, with TCR (Transient Climate Response) set to 1.8°C, inside the IPCC AR6 likely range. It is a genuine simplification of real climate science for a first-hand, hands-on feel, not a prediction of what will actually happen, real projections depend on how fast CO2 rises, ocean heat uptake, aerosols, and feedback loops the model above doesn't attempt to capture.
The Data Explorer shows the actual measured CO2 curve and the live reading right now, and the 8-lesson course explains why the greenhouse effect works the way this simulator shows.
📊 Open the Data Explorer