THERE was inevitably much hype from the BBC/Met Office about the few days of pleasant weather we had a couple of weeks ago, along with the inevitable blaming on climate change.
The BBC reported on June 16, the day before the heatwave peaked:
‘The UK has recorded its hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures set to rise on Friday, the Met Office said. Northolt, west London, saw temperatures reach 29.5C (85.1F), surpassing the previous hottest day of the year on Wednesday which saw 28.2C (82.8F).
‘On Friday the mercury is expected to rise to 34C in the south east of England, exceeding temperatures in parts of Jamaica and the Maldives. Across most of England and Wales, highs of between 27C and 30C are expected.
‘The Met Office said the “unusual” temperatures for June were a result of high pressure over the southern half of the UK and a south-westerly airflow bringing warm air across the UK and Europe.
‘The weather has not yet beaten the record for the hottest June day ever, which was a high of 35.6C at Southampton Mayflower Park in June 1976.
Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office’s National Climate Information Centre, said climate change had increased the average temperatures of UK summers and the likelihood of experiencing more extreme temperatures during hot spells and heatwaves.
‘He said: “Reaching 34C during June is a rare, but not unprecedented, event in the historical climate records for the UK. But if it should happen this week it would be notable that it would have occurred on three days during the last six Junes”.’
Friday came and went, but as the actual data showed, the weather was not remarkable at all. Temperatures peaked at 32.7C, well below the record for June.
And as Dr McCarthy should know, hot days like these are weather events, not climate!
The Central England Temperature hit 28.2C on Friday 17, again in no way an unusual temperature for June. There have been 46 days of 28C and over in June since 1878:
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/hadobs/hadcet/data/download.html
Finally, let’s return to McCarthy’s comment: ‘But if it should happen this week it would be notable that it would have occurred on three days during the last six Junes.’
Notice how he is trying to ramp up alarm based on data which did not exist at the time, and which proved to be a woefully inaccurate prediction.
Apparently this is what we pay our Met Office for!
BBC bias exposed again
OFTEN the climate bias at the BBC is so subtle that most people are unaware of it. One way in which this operates is the exclusion of any views that don’t meet the BBC’s world view.
A BBC Radio Four item on the PM programme in March this year was caught doing this following a complaint from a member of the public. As a result, the BBC was forced to issue this apology:
‘After Shell’s decision to reconsider its decision on the Cambo oilfield, we discussed whether energy security and the net zero agenda can co-exist, and the practical steps that could be taken to alleviate rapidly rising energy prices. Both contributors to the discussion argued against Shell’s involvement in the oilfield. We accept should have done more (sic) to provide a wider range of views or signal their existence in order to ensure the item met our standard of due impartiality.’
It is therefore astonishing that a second Radio 4 broadcast on the very same day had exactly the same lack of impartiality.
The half hour programme, Costing The Earth, discussed record energy prices and featured three interviewees, all firmly anti-fossil fuels:
James Murray – Editor-in-chief, BusinessGreen magazine
His job is to promote the green agenda and lobby for the renewable industry. That’s what he is paid to do. Interestingly, Murray’s own profile states that he often reports for the BBC:
‘James is one of the UK’s leading commentators on the low carbon economy. He writes occasionally for the Guardian newspaper and has also reported for BBC Radio on a number of green technology stories.’
So this is not a one-off occurrence.
Emma Pinchbeck – Chief Executive of Energy UK
Energy UK is totally committed to the Net Zero agenda, as its latest Annual Report makes clear.
Under the heading ‘Our vision’, it says: ‘A net-zero energy system that customers see as fair and which delivers excellent service, choice and value for money to all UK’s homes and businesses.’
Emma Pinchbeck was previously was deputy CEO for the lobby group Renewable UK. On taking up her new post at Energy UK, she said:
‘The energy transition is upon us, and I am thrilled to be joining Energy UK at this critical time. The rapid innovation and technological advances in recent years mean that it is no longer necessary to compromise to get affordable, green and reliable power, and that is fantastic news for the UK economy and for British households.
‘The energy transition is not a niche green movement but an economic shift at the heart of our energy system . . . I am delighted that as chief executive of Energy UK, I will be in a position to support them as the transition gathers pace and, with my track record of working on climate change, I look forward to bringing my experience to help our members to achieve their decarbonisation ambitions.’
Michael Liebreich
His own website tells us all we need to know!
‘Michael is an acknowledged thought leader on clean energy, mobility, technology, climate, sustainability and finance. He is the founder and senior contributor to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, a member of numerous industry, governmental and multilateral advisory boards, an angel investor, a former member of the board of Transport for London, and an Advisor to the UK Board of Trade.’
The idea that any of these three would be impartial, never mind pro-fossil fuel, is ridiculous. The BBC knew this full well: that is why they invited them on the show in the first place.
