Met Office Heatwave Records Are Based on Junk Stations

Properly sited weather stations tell a very different story

The Met Office is claiming that this year is the first time temperatures of 35°C and higher have been recorded on six days. But the claims are a reflection of poorly sited weather stations, not climate change.

For the last year or so, the Daily Sceptic has been warning about the increasing reliance of the Met Office on junk weather stations, which are so poorly sited that they can overestimate real temperatures by as much as five degrees. At the latest count, 88% of the Met Office’s 400 sites fall into this category.

Siting problems can include proximity to artificial heat sources, such as airport runways, roads, car parks, solar panels, buildings and traffic. Weather stations are also totally inappropriate in sun traps, such as in gardens surrounded by hedges and trees and walled gardens; the latter, of course, are purposely designed to create a warmer micro-climate.

Classifications are made according to World Meteorological Organisation standards. Class 1 sites are pristine, but temperatures at Class 3, 4 and 5 ones can be 1°C, 2°C and 5°C too high respectively.