Celsius

The Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701–44) was arguably the worlds first true Earth scientist. In Celsius: A Life and Death by Degrees, Ian Hembrow reveals what his extraordinary, but tragically short, life and career can teach us about our today and humanitys tomorrow.

Our modern understanding of many of the Earths most awe-inspiring phenomena owes much to a modest and quietly spoken, eighteenth-century Swedish astronomer, who died of tuberculosis aged just 42. From the Northern Lights, air pressure and magnetism to the shape of the planet, sea levels and early studies of climate change, Celsius unravelled some of the greatest mysteries of his time.

Best known for inventing the 100-point centi-grade scale, Celsius name also now frames humanitys future in the international targets to limit average global temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. As our world faces this life-or-death struggle, theres much we can learn from Celsius – if we will listen.