Media Accused Of Climate Hysteria

THE recent reporting of the heatwave that baked Europe have been criticised for scaremongering and adding to the controversy that surrounds climate change.

It is claimed that a report, first published by the European Space Agency (ESA) on July 13, has been manipulated to make the hot temperatures seem much more extreme than they actually were, writes Watts Up With That.

Last week’s press reports that temperatures across the south of Europe could reach an unbelievable 48 degrees Celsius, were just that, unbelievable.

The incorrect information originally came from an article published by the ESA, which crucially referred to ‘air’ temperatures, and was quickly seized upon by media outlets.

The July 13 ESA report said, ‘Temperatures are sizzling across Europe this week amid an intense and prolonged period of heat. And it’s only just begun. Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Poland are all facing a major heatwave with air temperatures expected to climb to 48°C on the islands of Sicily and Sardinia – potentially the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Europe.’

The initial message was later expanded upon: ‘The animation below uses data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission’s radiometer instrument and shows the land surface temperature across Italy between 9 and 10 July. As the image clearly shows, in some cities the surface of the land exceeded 45°C, including Rome, Naples, Taranto and Foggia. Along the east slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily, many temperatures were recorded as over 50°C.’

In the standard weather reports that are issued to the public, temperatures are recorded at two metres above which are much cooler than those recorded at the ground surface level.

It is unclear if media reports either didn’t notice or chose to ignore this vital detail. By the time keen-eyed readers had noticed the difference the news of the excessive record-breaking temperatures had become widespread.

The report was updated five days later by the ESA on July 18, which attempted to clarify the original statement: ‘The image below uses data from the Copernicus Sentinel-3 mission’s radiometer instrument and shows the land surface temperature on 17 July 2023. Land surface temperature is how hot the surface of Earth feels to the touch. Air temperature, given in our daily weather forecasts, is a measure of how hot the air is above the ground.’

The ESA included the information: ‘While weather forecasts use predicted air temperatures, this satellite instrument measures the real amount of energy radiating from Earth – and depicts the temperature of the land surface. Therefore, the map shows the actual temperature of the land’s surface which is significantly hotter than air temperatures.’