Measurements

Currency

The default currency we cite is the U.S. dollar (no space between the dollar sign and the number). Write out amounts in full, except for those more than a million.

·        $21,400

·        $2.75 million

·        30 cents

For conversions, give the local currency followed by the U.S. dollar equivalent in parentheses. Write out the local currency name after the amount, except for dollar currencies. No need to specify the country (e.g. Philippine peso, Colombian peso) if the story already makes it clear.

·        The Australian government provides a subsidy of A$3,500 ($2,350)

·        The company was fined 630,000 euros ($689,000)

·        Prices go as high as 18,000 rand ($980)

Give a conversion for every mention of a local currency amount (unless it’s an amount that has already been converted earlier). Round off to three significant digits.

Use Google to convert from local currencies.

·        “3,500 AUD to USD”

·        “1.2 million PHP to USD”

For historical amounts, search for the exchange rate during the relevant period; don’t use the current exchange rate. Note it accordingly in the conversion.

·        In 2006, the company was fined 630,000 euros ($813,000 at the time)

Dimensions

Give all dimensions in metric/SI units, followed by the U.S. equivalent in parentheses. Do this for all dimensions in an article, unless repeated.

·        Illegal loggers cleared 24 square kilometers (9 square miles) of the national park.

Use Google to convert dimensions. For conversions to gallons, specify “US gal” because Google’s default in some regions is the imperial gallon.

·        “24 km2 to mi2”

·        “3,500 m to ft”

Give all dimensions in numerals.

Spell out units in full on first reference, then abbreviate thereafter. The only exception is hectares (acres) and metric tons. Some common abbreviations:

·        kilometers (miles) → km (mi)

·        meters (feet) → m (ft)

·        square kilometers (square miles) → km2 (mi2)

·        kilograms (pounds) → kg (lbs)

·        ° Celsius (° Fahrenheit) → °C (°F)

·        liters (gallons) → l (gal)

For areas, hectare (acre) is more suitable for relatively smaller dimensions (areas deforested, farm size, national park area). Square kilometer (square mile) is more suitable for relatively larger areas (marine protected areas, country size). Try to be consistent with using one or the other and not switching between the two in a single article.

Try to give a comparative approximation of figures like area to give readers a sense of their scale:

·        The country lost 115,459 hectares (285,300 acres) of forest cover in 2020, an area the size of Los Angeles

For weight, amounts given in metric tons don’t need to be converted to the U.S. equivalent.

Some items have an industry-standard unit of measurement, such as troy ounces for gold or cubic feet for natural gas. No need to convert these.

Temperature

Use Celsius with Fahrenheit equivalent in parentheses. Use Google to convert temperatures.

·        “37 c to f”

Spell out units in full on first reference, then abbreviate thereafter. (Note there’s a space when written out in full.)

·        ° Celsius (° Fahrenheit) → °C (°F)

Use numerals for all values except zero. For sub-zero temperatures, use the minus sign (-) before the number.

For the Paris Agreement goals, don’t convert the temperatures as normal, as the numbers represent an increment rather than an absolute temperature. Thus the equivalent of 1.5°C is 2.7°F, and 2°C is 3.6°F.

When writing about the Paris Agreement goals, specify that these numbers have a baseline.

·        Efforts to cap the global temperature rise at 1.5°C (2.7°F) above pre-industrial levels

Time

Use “a.m.” or “p.m.” rather than “o’clock.” Use numerals except for “noon” and “midnight.”

·        9 a.m.

·        9:30 a.m.

·        8-10 p.m.

Years and ages

Always give years in numerals

·        It was the largest fire recorded in 2010

·        2012 was a landmark year for the community

·        The road project was conceived in the 1970s

·        Or: The idea for the road dates back to the ’70s

Use figures for centuries 10 and above (and keep “century” in lower case).

·        The discovery represents the first recorded sighting of the animal since the early 20th century

Ages are always given in numerals.

·        The results of the 8-year-old study were overturned by a newer round of research

·        Or: It took eight years to carry out the study

·        A group of women in their 60s

Hyphenate ages as adjectives.

·        The 3-year-old tiger

·        But also: The tiger was 3 years old

Use B.C.E. and C.E. instead of B.C. and A.D.

Numbers

For whole numbers, the general rule is to write out one through nine and use numerals for 10 and above. A key exception is in headlines, where sub-10 numbers can be given as numerals.

·        None of the eight suspects was charged

·        Each household had between six and 12 head of cattle

Dimensions (distance, volume, area, etc.) are always given in numerals.

Ages are always given in numerals.

Do not begin sentences with numerals (except when starting with a year).

Use commas for quantities of a thousand or more. Spell out and use decimals for numbers more than a million.

·        Flooding of the forest by the dam released 1.3 million metric tons of CO2

For ordinal numbers, use the same rule for spelling out first through ninth and figures for higher values.

·        The district is the third-most deforested in the country

For ranges, give the unit at the end of the range. Ranges can be expressed as “from … to …” or “between … and …”; don’t mix these up.

·        Floodwaters ranged from 1-1.5 meters (3-5 feet) high

·        Or: Floodwaters ranged between 1 and 1.5 meters (2 and 5 feet) high

·        Each household received 10-12 bags of rice

·        Or: Each household received eight to 12 bags of rice