Given my quantitative background in physical geography, I do like a good graph, map or figure. I was therefore interested to explore visual storytelling through a collection of graphs, and particularly whether interactive graphs could make the story more engaging than a conventional scientific report or presentation.
Introducing the Summer Heat and Agriculture NI app, launched in the summer of 2022, highlighting some of the impacts of summer heat extremes on the agricultural sector in Northern Ireland. The app is built in Shiny, a package for the statistical software R, and allows differing levels of interaction with each graph. There are several tabs to the app, taking the user through past heatwaves and their impacts to the potential magnitude of future events.
Before I go any further, why not have an explore yourself:
The aim of this app is to be of use to agricultural policy makers, i.e. those who are setting strategies or feeding into larger scale climate, environmental or agricultural reports focussing on the whole of Northern Ireland. While a local postcode checker is included in the app to show potential future temperature extremes at a local level, the underlying climate data is not detailed enough to provide specific advice for individual farms. However, it is hoped that the app would be of interest to anyone who works in agriculture and feedback on it is very welcome.
What would make it more useful to you? Leave a comment and let’s have a conversation!
