Would-be self-proclaimed sciency folk are buying and sharing the “hottest year ever” meme. It has been hot in some places at some times but is it the hottest ever? Nope.
Just because it was hot where you live does not mean it was hot everywhere or all the time. Daytime temperatures are not the only dog in this fight. Much like last year, while there were some hot days, most of the nights were very pleasant and in the 50’s. With only a few staying warm enough to make sleeping an issue without AC.
The days make the news but the averages make it, well, average.
Another tactic of climate cultists is to pick a recent low as a starting point. If we took the above graph and began in 1990, July 2016 still wouldn’t come close to being the hottest, but the trend line would be sharp and upward. OMG, it’s AWG. But it’s not. It’s average.
The trend for the past 120 July’s is meh. (If you start in the 1930’s, you’ve got a very clear long-term decline in average temperature.)
Now take a look at this.
When it hits 100 degrees, people notice. It makes the evening news, the local paper, people feel it. But July 2016 was well below average for reported 100 degree days in the US since 1890, which might surprise more than a few folks who spend a wee bit too much time watching network and cable news.
Nearly 80% of measuring stations never reached 100 degrees in the US.
Finally, Aug. 12, 1936 (now that August 2016 is going to be proclaimed by ‘experts’ as the hottest on record) was exponentially hotter.
I’m not saying we couldn’t get there again, but blaming it on CO2 or fossil fuels is a convenient lie to advance a political agenda.
