Post by the Scribe on Dec 28, 2022 9:13:54 GMT
Fact check: Climate change caused by humans, celestial 'magnetic state' not cause of extreme heat
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/22/fact-check-climate-change-caused-humans-and-worsens-heat-waves/10828425002/
Kate S. Petersen
USA TODAY
The claim: Climate change not caused by humans; extreme heat events caused by 'sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state'
Greenhouse gas emissions related to human activity have caused nearly two degrees of warming since the late 1800s, according to NASA.
climate.nasa.gov/causes/
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures
climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
However, some social media users are sharing a video clip that claims climate change has nothing to do with humans.
The clip shows a British meteorologist and climate change skeptic, Piers Corbyn, talking about climate during an airing of Russia Today, a Russian television program.
"Climate has always been changing, but this has nothing to do with man," says Corbyn.
He also claims that extreme heat events in Europe and Russia were caused by "circulation patterns" driven by a "combination of solar activity and the state of the phases of the Moon," specifically citing a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state."
The video surfaced in a Nov. 13 Instagram post where a graphic superimposed over the video refers to climate change as the "joke of the century."
But the claim is wrong. Modern climate change is caused by human behavior, namely the release of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, into the atmosphere, a wide array of experts agree. Heat waves are caused by atmospheric circulation patterns, but atmospheric circulation is not driven by "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic" states, according to researchers. While heat waves are natural phenomena, they are worsening due to global warming.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment.
Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Climate change caused by human behavior
Research organizations such as NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have found that human CO2 emissions and other behaviors are clearly driving modern climate change.
climate.nasa.gov/causes/
www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/are-humans-causing-or-contributing-global-warming
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/09/climate-crisis-unequivocally-caused-by-human-activities-says-ipcc-report
"The warming the world has experienced is primarily due to CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere," Zeke Hausfather, climate research lead at Stripe, previously told USA TODAY. "We know that human activity is causing it to rise because the accumulation in the atmosphere matches the amount we've added through burning fossil fuels."
thebreakthrough.org/people/zeke-hausfather
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/11/28/fact-check-false-claim-warming-similar-earth-other-planets/10627488002/
Further, the amount of warming that has been observed corresponds to the amount of warming that would be expected given "human emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols" as well as human-driven changes to Earth's reflectivity, Hausfather said.
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans/
sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/climatebits-albedo/
Fact check: NASA says modern climate change caused by human activity, not solar orbital cycles
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/07/26/fact-check-nasa-says-modern-climate-change-fossil-fuels/10032564002/
Heat waves not caused by 'sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state'
Juan Lora, an assistant professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Yale University, told USA TODAY that heat waves are not caused by a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state," calling the concept "nonsense."
people.earth.yale.edu/profile/juan-lora/about
"The moon does not have a magnetic field," he said in an email. "There is no such phenomenon."
Heat waves are related to atmospheric circulation patterns, but these patterns are not driven by magnetism as the video claims, Vikki Thompson, a Bristol University climate scientist, told USA TODAY. Instead, they are caused by differences in how much of the sun's energy strikes different parts of the planet.
scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-weather-works/global-air-atmospheric-circulation
vikki-thompson.github.io/
This differential heating causes the atmosphere to circulate as warmer air rises and cooler air sinks. Earth's rotation and topography then create complexities in the circulation pattern, she said in an email.
Heat waves generally occur when the circulation patterns result in a high-pressure system – an area of high air density – settling over a region, according to NOAA. The pressure forces air downward, trapping warm ground air in place.
scijinks.gov/heat/
Thompson noted circulation patterns and subsequent heat waves are driven by the sun's energy, not its magnetism.
"The moon has no magnetic field," she said. "The Earth's magnetic field does not interact with the weather and climate of the Earth."
There is some evidence that gravitational force from the moon could impact atmospheric circulation, but these interactions would be very minimal, she said. Some scientists have also hypothesized that the sun's magnetic field could have a minor influence on cloud formation in the Earth's atmosphere, but this is not currently supported by data.
Thompson said the general consensus in the scientific community is that the sun's magnetism has no influence on Earth's atmosphere.
However, human greenhouse gas emissions have a direct and well-documented impact on atmospheric circulation and heat waves, Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, told USA TODAY.
crd.lbl.gov/divisions/amcr/computational-science-dept/acsd/staff/staff-members/michael-wehner/
While heat waves themselves are natural, "climate change exacerbates heat waves," he said in an email.
"First, the additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels traps more of the sun’s energy," Wehner said. "Second, the generally warmer conditions from global warming result in drier soils, leading to less ... evaporation from the ground and transpiration (emission of water vapor) from the plants, which means there is less cooling from that process."
Fact check: Global warming caused by human activity, not solar winds or weakened magnetic field
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/08/05/fact-check-global-warming-caused-humans-not-solar-winds/10111742002/
This results in heat waves that are longer and warmer, he said.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves have increased in the U.S. since the 1960s.
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heat-waves
"Heat waves are occurring more than they used to in major cities across the United States," reads the agency's website. "Extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change."
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate
The claim was also debunked by Politifact and AFP.
www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/nov/29/instagram-posts/no-climate-change-isnt-driven-by-solar-activity-an/
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32JY77E-1
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that climate change is not caused by humans and extreme heat events are caused by a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state." Experts say modern climate change is caused by human behavior, primarily the emission of greenhouse gases. Heat waves are a natural phenomenon exacerbated by climate change. They are not driven by a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state," which experts say is not a real phenomenon.
Our fact-check sources:
Michael Wehner, Dec. 13, Email exchange with USA TODAY
crd.lbl.gov/divisions/amcr/computational-science-dept/acsd/staff/staff-members/michael-wehner/
Vikki Thompson, Dec. 13, Email exchange with USA TODAY
vikki-thompson.github.io/
Juan Lora, Dec. 9, Email exchange with USA TODAY
people.earth.yale.edu/profile/juan-lora/about
Zeke Hausfather, Nov. 17, Email exchange with USA TODAY
thebreakthrough.org/people/zeke-hausfather
Wim Thiery, Dec. 15, Email exchange with USA TODAY
www.researchgate.net/profile/Wim-Thiery
AFP, Sept. 27, British meteorologist falsely blames climate change on sun, moon
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32JY77E-1
PolitiFact, Nov. 29, No, climate change isn’t driven by solar activity and lunar phases
www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/nov/29/instagram-posts/no-climate-change-isnt-driven-by-solar-activity-an/
NASA Global Climate Change, accessed Dec. 2, Causes
climate.nasa.gov/causes/
NASA Global Climate Change, accessed Dec. 2, Global temperatures
climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
NASA Earth Observatory, accessed Dec. 2, World of Change: Global Temperatures
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures
The Guardian, May 12, How the moon influences temperatures on Earth
www.theguardian.com/science/2022/may/12/how-the-moon-influences-temperatures-on-earth
USA TODAY, Nov. 28, Fact check: Earth's warming well documented, other planets' climate data limited
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/11/28/fact-check-false-claim-warming-similar-earth-other-planets/10627488002/
CarbonBrief, Dec. 13, 2017, Analysis: Why scientists think 100% of global warming is due to humans
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans/
NOAA Science on a Sphere, Feb. 21, 2017, ClimateBits: Albedo
sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/climatebits-albedo/
NOAA Climate.gov, Oct. 29, 2020, Are humans causing or contributing to global warming?
www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/are-humans-causing-or-contributing-global-warming
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, accessed Dec. 18, Sixth assessment report: headline
statements from the summary for policymakers
www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Headline_Statements.pdf
EPA, accessed Dec. 18, Climate Change Indicators: Heat Waves
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heat-waves
EPA, accessed Dec. 18, Climate Change Indicators: Weather and Climate
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate
NOAA SciJinks, accessed Dec. 19, What is a heat wave?
scijinks.gov/heat/
The Farmer's Almanac, Aug. 23, 2021, What Causes A Heatwave?
www.farmersalmanac.com/what-causes-a-heat-wave-10912
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, accessed Dec. 19, A global look at moving air: atmospheric circulation
scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-weather-works/global-air-atmospheric-circulation
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
cm.usatoday.com/specialoffer?_ga=2.159964861.1095412655.1597937597-1319250638.1597937595
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/12/22/fact-check-climate-change-caused-humans-and-worsens-heat-waves/10828425002/
Kate S. Petersen
USA TODAY
The claim: Climate change not caused by humans; extreme heat events caused by 'sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state'
Greenhouse gas emissions related to human activity have caused nearly two degrees of warming since the late 1800s, according to NASA.
climate.nasa.gov/causes/
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures
climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
However, some social media users are sharing a video clip that claims climate change has nothing to do with humans.
The clip shows a British meteorologist and climate change skeptic, Piers Corbyn, talking about climate during an airing of Russia Today, a Russian television program.
"Climate has always been changing, but this has nothing to do with man," says Corbyn.
He also claims that extreme heat events in Europe and Russia were caused by "circulation patterns" driven by a "combination of solar activity and the state of the phases of the Moon," specifically citing a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state."
The video surfaced in a Nov. 13 Instagram post where a graphic superimposed over the video refers to climate change as the "joke of the century."
http://instagram.com/p/Ck7ZeVHs6Ux
But the claim is wrong. Modern climate change is caused by human behavior, namely the release of greenhouse gases, such as CO2, into the atmosphere, a wide array of experts agree. Heat waves are caused by atmospheric circulation patterns, but atmospheric circulation is not driven by "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic" states, according to researchers. While heat waves are natural phenomena, they are worsening due to global warming.
USA TODAY reached out to the Instagram user who shared the post for comment.
Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Climate change caused by human behavior
Research organizations such as NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have found that human CO2 emissions and other behaviors are clearly driving modern climate change.
climate.nasa.gov/causes/
www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/are-humans-causing-or-contributing-global-warming
www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/aug/09/climate-crisis-unequivocally-caused-by-human-activities-says-ipcc-report
"The warming the world has experienced is primarily due to CO2 accumulating in the atmosphere," Zeke Hausfather, climate research lead at Stripe, previously told USA TODAY. "We know that human activity is causing it to rise because the accumulation in the atmosphere matches the amount we've added through burning fossil fuels."
thebreakthrough.org/people/zeke-hausfather
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/11/28/fact-check-false-claim-warming-similar-earth-other-planets/10627488002/
Further, the amount of warming that has been observed corresponds to the amount of warming that would be expected given "human emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols" as well as human-driven changes to Earth's reflectivity, Hausfather said.
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans/
sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/climatebits-albedo/
Fact check: NASA says modern climate change caused by human activity, not solar orbital cycles
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/07/26/fact-check-nasa-says-modern-climate-change-fossil-fuels/10032564002/
Heat waves not caused by 'sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state'
Juan Lora, an assistant professor of Earth and planetary sciences at Yale University, told USA TODAY that heat waves are not caused by a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state," calling the concept "nonsense."
people.earth.yale.edu/profile/juan-lora/about
"The moon does not have a magnetic field," he said in an email. "There is no such phenomenon."
Heat waves are related to atmospheric circulation patterns, but these patterns are not driven by magnetism as the video claims, Vikki Thompson, a Bristol University climate scientist, told USA TODAY. Instead, they are caused by differences in how much of the sun's energy strikes different parts of the planet.
scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-weather-works/global-air-atmospheric-circulation
vikki-thompson.github.io/
This differential heating causes the atmosphere to circulate as warmer air rises and cooler air sinks. Earth's rotation and topography then create complexities in the circulation pattern, she said in an email.
Heat waves generally occur when the circulation patterns result in a high-pressure system – an area of high air density – settling over a region, according to NOAA. The pressure forces air downward, trapping warm ground air in place.
scijinks.gov/heat/
Thompson noted circulation patterns and subsequent heat waves are driven by the sun's energy, not its magnetism.
"The moon has no magnetic field," she said. "The Earth's magnetic field does not interact with the weather and climate of the Earth."
There is some evidence that gravitational force from the moon could impact atmospheric circulation, but these interactions would be very minimal, she said. Some scientists have also hypothesized that the sun's magnetic field could have a minor influence on cloud formation in the Earth's atmosphere, but this is not currently supported by data.
Thompson said the general consensus in the scientific community is that the sun's magnetism has no influence on Earth's atmosphere.
However, human greenhouse gas emissions have a direct and well-documented impact on atmospheric circulation and heat waves, Michael Wehner, a senior scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, told USA TODAY.
crd.lbl.gov/divisions/amcr/computational-science-dept/acsd/staff/staff-members/michael-wehner/
While heat waves themselves are natural, "climate change exacerbates heat waves," he said in an email.
"First, the additional carbon dioxide in the atmosphere from burning fossil fuels traps more of the sun’s energy," Wehner said. "Second, the generally warmer conditions from global warming result in drier soils, leading to less ... evaporation from the ground and transpiration (emission of water vapor) from the plants, which means there is less cooling from that process."
Fact check: Global warming caused by human activity, not solar winds or weakened magnetic field
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/08/05/fact-check-global-warming-caused-humans-not-solar-winds/10111742002/
This results in heat waves that are longer and warmer, he said.
The Environmental Protection Agency reports that the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves have increased in the U.S. since the 1960s.
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heat-waves
"Heat waves are occurring more than they used to in major cities across the United States," reads the agency's website. "Extreme weather events such as heat waves and large storms are likely to become more frequent or more intense with human-induced climate change."
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate
The claim was also debunked by Politifact and AFP.
www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/nov/29/instagram-posts/no-climate-change-isnt-driven-by-solar-activity-an/
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32JY77E-1
Our rating: False
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that climate change is not caused by humans and extreme heat events are caused by a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state." Experts say modern climate change is caused by human behavior, primarily the emission of greenhouse gases. Heat waves are a natural phenomenon exacerbated by climate change. They are not driven by a "sun-Earth-lunar magnetic state," which experts say is not a real phenomenon.
Our fact-check sources:
Michael Wehner, Dec. 13, Email exchange with USA TODAY
crd.lbl.gov/divisions/amcr/computational-science-dept/acsd/staff/staff-members/michael-wehner/
Vikki Thompson, Dec. 13, Email exchange with USA TODAY
vikki-thompson.github.io/
Juan Lora, Dec. 9, Email exchange with USA TODAY
people.earth.yale.edu/profile/juan-lora/about
Zeke Hausfather, Nov. 17, Email exchange with USA TODAY
thebreakthrough.org/people/zeke-hausfather
Wim Thiery, Dec. 15, Email exchange with USA TODAY
www.researchgate.net/profile/Wim-Thiery
AFP, Sept. 27, British meteorologist falsely blames climate change on sun, moon
factcheck.afp.com/doc.afp.com.32JY77E-1
PolitiFact, Nov. 29, No, climate change isn’t driven by solar activity and lunar phases
www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/nov/29/instagram-posts/no-climate-change-isnt-driven-by-solar-activity-an/
NASA Global Climate Change, accessed Dec. 2, Causes
climate.nasa.gov/causes/
NASA Global Climate Change, accessed Dec. 2, Global temperatures
climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/
NASA Earth Observatory, accessed Dec. 2, World of Change: Global Temperatures
earthobservatory.nasa.gov/world-of-change/global-temperatures
The Guardian, May 12, How the moon influences temperatures on Earth
www.theguardian.com/science/2022/may/12/how-the-moon-influences-temperatures-on-earth
USA TODAY, Nov. 28, Fact check: Earth's warming well documented, other planets' climate data limited
www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2022/11/28/fact-check-false-claim-warming-similar-earth-other-planets/10627488002/
CarbonBrief, Dec. 13, 2017, Analysis: Why scientists think 100% of global warming is due to humans
www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-why-scientists-think-100-of-global-warming-is-due-to-humans/
NOAA Science on a Sphere, Feb. 21, 2017, ClimateBits: Albedo
sos.noaa.gov/catalog/datasets/climatebits-albedo/
NOAA Climate.gov, Oct. 29, 2020, Are humans causing or contributing to global warming?
www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/are-humans-causing-or-contributing-global-warming
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, accessed Dec. 18, Sixth assessment report: headline
statements from the summary for policymakers
www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_Headline_Statements.pdf
EPA, accessed Dec. 18, Climate Change Indicators: Heat Waves
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-heat-waves
EPA, accessed Dec. 18, Climate Change Indicators: Weather and Climate
www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/weather-climate
NOAA SciJinks, accessed Dec. 19, What is a heat wave?
scijinks.gov/heat/
The Farmer's Almanac, Aug. 23, 2021, What Causes A Heatwave?
www.farmersalmanac.com/what-causes-a-heat-wave-10912
University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, accessed Dec. 19, A global look at moving air: atmospheric circulation
scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/how-weather-works/global-air-atmospheric-circulation
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
cm.usatoday.com/specialoffer?_ga=2.159964861.1095412655.1597937597-1319250638.1597937595
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.