The Abbey Ruins and other Reading landmarks have been illuminated blue and red to raise awareness about the effects of climate change on our planet.  

The Hexagon, One Forbury Square and University of Reading buildings also had the climate stripes projected onto them on Wednesday, June 21, which marked Show Your Stripes Day.

Further afield major landmarks such as The White Cliffs of Dover and the Tate Modern chimney in London also joined in with the movement.

Created in 2018 by Professor Ed Hawkins, a climate scientist at the University of Reading and National Centre for Atmospheric Science, the projection is made up of vertical-coloured bars that have no words and no numbers and show the progressive heating of our planet in a single, striking image.

The blue and red stripes show how global average temperatures have risen over nearly two centuries. 

On the day schoolchildren from Reading and Wokingham came together to think about climate actions they would like to see in their schools at a Youth Climate Summit. 

Professor Hawkins said: “Schoolchildren know more about climate change than ever before but it’s so important that they keep starting conversations about our warming planet.

"We need to listen to our children’s concerns about the future and take action against climate change now.” 

The Youth Climate Summit formed part of the Reading Climate Festival and is a joint initiative delivered by Design Nature, Reading Climate Action Network, Reading Borough Council and the University of Reading.