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Global Temperature Anomaly vs US Urban Population
Global Temperature Anomaly and US Urban Population correlate at r = +0.88 over 66 years (1960–2025), p < 0.0001. With the time trend removed, r = -0.37. Direction flips without the trend.
Verdict: Direction flips without the trend. The raw correlation is 0.88, but once each series' time trend is removed it becomes -0.37. The year-to-year movements run the opposite way to the long-run trends, so the headline number is misleading.
- Pearson r
- +0.88
- p-value
- < 0.0001
- Years compared (n)
- 66 (1960–2025)
- 95% confidence interval
- 0.81 to 0.92
- Correlation with the time trend removed
- -0.37
Sources
- Global Temperature Anomaly (°C vs 1901–2000): NOAA NCEI. Annual global land and ocean surface temperature departure from the 1901–2000 average (NOAA NCEI).
- US Urban Population (% of total): World Bank. US Urban Population (World Bank indicator SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS).
Related pairs
- US Rural Population vs US Urban Population (r = -1.00)
- US Population vs US Urban Population (r = +0.97)
- Atmospheric CO₂ (Mauna Loa) vs Global Temperature Anomaly (r = +0.97)
- Global Temperature Anomaly vs US GDP per Capita (r = +0.97)
- Global Temperature Anomaly vs US GDP (current US$) (r = +0.96)
- US Adult Obesity vs US Urban Population (r = +0.95)
Correlation does not imply causation. How the verdict is worked out.