Recreating a Chart from a Visual Capitalist Infographic

Over the summer, I had some time, so I tried a few experiments. I found some interesting YouTube videos from people remaking the graphics using Excel.

I don't have Excel - I have Google Sheets - so I got to work. They are almost the same anyway. 

And here's the final result. Nothing too fancy, but easier to read than a list of numbers. I think the heat map looks pretty good.

Checking Historical Temperature with Google Sheets

I was back in Minnesota for the summer this year. The temperature really started to rise and I wondered if this was an anomaly, or if it was within the range of normal for July. 

Then I wondered if temperatures were increasing.

First I needed to get the data. A Google search for "Minnesota annual high temperature" led me to a site with the data I needed. <Example needed>

Here I could use the IMPORTHTML function to pull the data to the sheet.

There were actually two tables, so I needed to change the formula from 1 to 2. <Example needed>

After importing the data, I copied it and pasted the values only. Then I could change the dates to year only (file>format>number), and moved the date column so it was to the left.

From here, I was able to create a table. (file>insert>chart)

Then, I thought I wanted the annual minimum temperature, so I repeated the process.

My findings

The high temperature for the years has somewhat remained stable, while the low temperature is increasing. 

This isn't enough data to determine if temperatures are actually increasing, I'd need the complete daily temperature data for that ... it sounds like a cool project though!

Copy the file

Add a Label to Chart Data

I created a chart from some data. Gridlines would definitely help to make it easier to read, but a label would be even better. 

To add a label, go into the chart editor and click on Customize in the top menu. Then scroll down to Series. In the Series menu towards the bottom are three checkboxes - the last one is Data labels. You might need to change the format. 

Click on the drop down menu and select from source data.