Is Adjusting Temperature Measurements a Global Warming 'Scandal?'

Earth is warming--that much is certain. In the past several years, ice has melted across the planet, ecosystems have shifted and sea levels have risen. What is uncertain, though, is by how much our world has warmed--and that's partly due to "fudged" climate data.

Recently, the Telegraph has pointed out that official temperature records were systematically "adjusted" to show that the Earth has warmed much more than the actual data justified. These aren't just claims, either; Paul Homewood of Notalotofpeopleknowthat blog checked published temperature graphs for three weather stations in Paraguay against the original temperatures that had been recorded; in each instance, the actual trend had been pushed toward warming.

That said, the Guardian was swift to point out that scientists process raw temperature data for good reasons. Sometimes temperature monitoring stations move; sometimes the time of day at which temperatures are read changes. This means that some form of "fiddling" is necessary to take out biases and standardize the temperatures, a process called homogenization.

Even so, other publications have pointed out that measurements have all been "homogenized"-even ones that wouldn't have been impacted by outside forces.

Of course, that's not to say that there isn't a warming trend. There is ample evidence that shows that our world is changing--from rising sea levels to more extreme storms to drought. However, it's possible that these warming shifts may not be as extreme as presented--just as it may be more extreme. The fact is that the scientists processed the data in order to improve its accuracy. The graphs and charts that we see are a good representation of warming trends.

Far from a scandal, this climate data processing is just part of standard science.

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