Our world is unfortunately being completely transformed due to climate change, together with it’s powerful and negative effects. The evidence keeps on coming, between the ice of the once frozen Arctic melting,  and sea levels that we once thought were completely unheard of.

For those that don’t live in close proximity to the Arctic, or to a coast however, the evidence might not be as clear or easy to see.  And when it’s not put right in front of your face, it can seem as though it’s a much less pressing issue. Simply hearing about it is never quite as powerful.

For this very reason, two American researchers have designed an application that is completely revolutionary when it comes to seeing the the damage caused by climate change.  The interactive apps allows people from across the globe to feel (or least somewhat) what those in the Arctic do.

The researchers behind this app describe how they managed to depict what climate change looks like in 540 urban regions of North America in the next 60 years.  They also found a specific city with a climate that at the moment best matches up with their 2080 predictions.

The researchers then created an app to depict their findings, in which any city can be searched in order to see what that specific city will be like in 2080.

Based on their predictions, anywhere in North America will be similar to a place that’s an entire 528 miles south.  Meaning? D.C will be most similar to Mississippi, and San Francisco will feel like Los Angeles.

Although predictions about climate change are of course no new matter, this project is the first to make it so accessible to all, providing the clearest possible picture of the damage caused to everyone, regardless of location, and brings this issue a whole lot closer to home.