Using the degree symbol

While this probably won’t be useful to most readers, I thought I would share how to produce the degree symbol (°) using only your keyboard, on both a PC and a Mac.

On a PC: Hold the Alt key, then type 0176 on the numeric keypad, and release the Alt key.

On a Mac: Hold the Option key, type k, release the Option key.

In Mac software, the symbol for the Option key looks like a two-pronged fork. The confusing key names and symbols are one of the things I like least about Macs. They really put me off using hotkey combinations, even though I have been using Macs daily for about four years now.

Anyhow, you can now use the appropriate symbol when writing phrases like: “avoiding a mean temperature increase of more than 2°C above pre-industrial levels.”

Author: Milan

In the spring of 2005, I graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in International Relations and a general focus in the area of environmental politics. Between 2005 and 2007 I completed an M.Phil in IR at Wadham College, Oxford. I worked for five years for the Canadian federal government, including completing the Accelerated Economist Training Program, and then completed a PhD in Political Science at the University of Toronto in 2023. View all posts by Milan