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Every summer, the United States and other parts of the world face heat waves, which often lead climate alarmists and left-leaning media outlets to demand drastic changes to the global energy system. Unfortunately, this summer is no exception.
On Tuesday, U.S. media outlets released a series of articles discussing supposedly “historic” heat waves in Europe and North America. For instance, the Washington Post published an article titled “Heat waves in U.S., Europe ‘virtually impossible’ without climate change, study finds.”
Similarly, Axios published a story titled “Historic and enduring U.S. heat wave, by the numbers.”
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While it is true that certain parts of the United States have experienced intense heat waves this summer, there is no reason to believe that these weather events indicate an impending climate change catastrophe. In fact, the most reliable evidence suggests that heat waves recorded a century ago were more problematic than what we are witnessing today.
Climate change protestors are seen marching and changing as they carry placards on November 06, 2021, in Melbourne, Australia. Protests across Australia were organized as part of a global day of action demanding world leaders act decisively on climate to prevent catastrophic global warming.
(Photo by Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images)
Government researchers have been monitoring heat waves for over a century. Data from the U.S. Climate Change Science Program, made accessible by the Environmental Protection Agency, reveals that the annual heat wave index for the contiguous 48 states was significantly higher in the 1930s compared to recent years. In some years during the 1930s, it was even four times higher.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) maintains a extensive database of daily temperatures dating back to 1948. This data was collected from 1,066 weather stations across the United States.
According to NOAA, large parts of the United States have experienced a noticeable decrease in abnormally hot days recorded since 1948, particularly in the Midwest and northern and eastern Texas.
While it is true that there has been an increase in the number of hotter-than-usual days in certain parts of the United States over the past 70 years, such as California and the New York metropolitan area, which coincidentally are home to numerous media outlets, most weather stations have shown no significant changes or even declines.
U.S. Annual Heat Wave Index, 1895–2021
(EPA)
Meteorologist Anthony Watts, a senior fellow at The Heartland Institute, analyzed NOAA’s data and discovered that 81% of the weather stations used in NOAA’s database reported “either a decrease or no change in the number of unusually hot days” since 1948.
If the available data clearly indicate that there is no heat-wave crisis, why do media outlets suggest otherwise? The answer lies in sloppy and irresponsible reporting, coupled with cherry-picked data.
When examining historic temperature records, it is possible to selectively choose starting and ending points that will support a desired warming or cooling trend. For example, if one begins in the 1970s, when temperatures were unusually low, current temperatures may appear abnormally high. On the other hand, starting around 2010 might suggest a dip below “normal” temperatures that is now recovering.
When discussing climate change data, many media outlets and left-wing politicians tend to selectively choose a range that presents an incomplete picture of the available dataset. This can create the illusion that today’s temperatures are “historic” when they are actually well within normal historical ranges.
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Another issue is that some media outlets have been treating temperature forecasts as though they were actual temperature data. Forecasts are, by definition, predictions, and some alarmist analysts have made a habit of incorrectly forecasting excessively high temperatures that never materialize.
For instance, the Telegraph, one of the United Kingdom’s largest papers, published an article on July 18th in which the author claimed that “thermometers could reach 48C in Sardinia and Sicily, while temperatures in Rome and Madrid might reach the mid to high-40Cs. In drought-stricken Spain, temperatures were projected to hit highs of 44C in Catalonia.”
If the available data so clearly reveal that there is no heat-wave crisis, why are media outlets suggesting the opposite is true? The answer is sloppy, irresponsible media reporting, combined with cherry-picked data.
None of these predictions proved accurate. In fact, some of them were off by several degrees or more.
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Heat waves occur annually, but they do not constitute evidence of a global warming crisis. Placing heat-wave data in their proper historical context shows that everything we are experiencing today has been observed in the past.
The unpleasant truth behind climate alarmism is that much of it is driven by a radical ideological agenda focused on transforming the global economy and American society, rather than actual science. The most effective way to counter this is by relying on cold, hard facts. And those facts clearly demonstrate that there is no reason to panic about our ever-changing climate.
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