At the top of Google News search results today for “climate change,” National Public Radio (NPR) has published an article titled, “Climate Change Is Driving Deadly Weather Disasters from Arizona to Mumbai.” NPR blames heatwaves, floods, and wildfires on global warming, yet objective data and even the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) say exactly the opposite.
According to the NPR article, “Heat waves. Floods. Wildfires. It’s been a destructive summer so far…. We know that climate change is to blame.”
Yet, here are the objective data and the findings of the UN IPCC and U.S. federal agencies:
Regarding heat waves, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data show heat waves were far more frequent and severe during the early 1900s than in recent decades. That’s objective data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Regarding floods, as reported by ClimateAtAGlance.com, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) admits having “low confidence” in any climate change impact regarding the frequency or severity of floods.
Also, the U.N. IPCC admits having “low confidence” in even the “sign” of any changes. In other words, it is just as likely that climate change is making floods less frequent and less severe.
Regarding wildfires, NASA satellites have since 1998 been measuring the amount of land burnt by wildfires. According to objective NASA satellite measurements, the total acreage burned by wildfires each year has declined by 24 percent since 1998.
So, NPR can make all the conclusory statements they want about global warming and heat waves, floods, and wildfires. However, the objective data and the ‘consensus’ of federal and United Nations climate organizations find no negative impact of our modest global warming on those weather disasters.
