No Evidence Earth is Cooling
The Claim
The Earth’s temperature has dropped below its 30 year baseline, proving that the planet is cooling, not warming.
News posted on
Emerging story
In early April, 2021, various alternative news sites used data from University of Alabama in Huntsville to claim that the Earth was cooling instead of warming.The sites also used this data to claim that the Earth was warmer in previous years, implying that the world has become continually colder over time.
Some social media users then repeated these claims.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s investigation shows that as of April 7, 2021, University of Alabama in Huntsville has not uploaded its raw data into a specific report, as it has done with previous months. The information on the Earth’s lower troposphere has been uploaded on the university’s site, which is what the sources are using as evidence of global cooling.
This data does show that the globe’s overall temperature in March 2021 was 0.01 degrees Celsius lower than the baseline temperature that the university uses from 30 years ago. However, the data also shows that is the first decrease on this baseline’s temperature since September 2018, when there was a 0.03 degrees Celsius decrease. And prior to 2015, decreases in this baseline temperature were much more common. Overall, the University of Alabama in Hunstville data shows that the Earth’s temperature is increasing and that the majority of months since 2015 show increases on the baseline temperature.
Additionally, NASA states that the average surface temperature of the Earth has risen approximately 1.18 degrees Celsius (2.12 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 19th century. It also notes that the years 2016 and 2020 are tied for the warmest years on record.
