Hannity’s not even close on 2009 temperatures
In three separate instances over two weeks, Sean Hannity has baselessly asserted that “this is one of the coldest years on record” to claim that climate change is a “hoax” or not “real.” In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), and Britain’s Met Office have stated that to date, 2009 is among the warmest years on record.
Hannity repeatedly asserted, “This is one of the coldest years on record”
November 10: “This is one of the coldest years on record, ladies and gentlemen.” Hannity stated during the November 10 edition of his Fox News program, “Here’s what I don’t understand. This is one of the coldest years on record, ladies and gentlemen. There is no — I don’t believe climate change is real. I think this is global warming hysteria and alarmism.”
November 18: “Senator, this is the coldest year on record … or one of them.” Hannity stated during a November 18 radio interview with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), “[W]hat I’m afraid of is I think you’re going to be used by the Democrats. ‘Well, even Lindsey Graham agrees that global warming is real.’ We’re — Senator, this is the coldest year on record … or one of them.”
November 24: “You can also look it up, this is one of the coldest years in history, this past year.” During the November 24 edition of his radio show, Hannity told a caller who said he “can’t wait” to confront “a liberal aunt and uncle” with “some facts” on global warming: “I tell you what, I have a special bit of information for you. At the top of the next hour, we’re going to expose the global warming hoax and how they have purposefully been misguiding people on this issue of man-made global warming. You can also look it up, this is one of the coldest years in history, this past year.”
In fact, major climate data centers indicate that thus far, 2009 is among the warmest years on record
NOAA: 2009 year-to-date global temperatures tied “as fifth warmest January-through-October period.” NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center stated in its October Global Analysis that “[f]or the year to date, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature of 14.7 °C (58.4 °F) tied with 2007 as the fifth-warmest January-through-October period on record.” From the analysis:
NOAA explains that “[t]he term ‘temperature anomaly’ means a departure from a reference value or long-term average. A positive anomaly indicates that the observed temperature was warmer than the reference value, while a negative anomaly indicates that the observed temperature was cooler than the reference value.”
GISS: 2009 year-to-date global surface temperature ranks fifth warmest out of 130 years. The following “Comparison of 2009 Temperature to the Two Years with the Warmest Annual Means” was posted on the Surface Temperature Analysis of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, last modified on November 16:
Met Office: 2009 will be one of top five warmest years globally. The BBC reported on November 24 that “[t]his year will be one of the top five warmest years globally since records began 150 years ago, according to figures compiled by the Met Office.” The BBC further reported that “[o]ther sources say it could even be the third warmest.”
Monthly U.S. temps not representative of global climate
NOAA: United States saw “third coolest October on record.” NOAA stated in its October “National Overview” that “[t]he average October temperature of 50.8°F was 4.0°F below the 20th Century average” and that “[f]or the nation as a whole, it was the third coolest October on record.” Hannity may be mistaking the U.S. national October temperature for the global annual temperature. Globally, October was “the sixth warmest October on record,” according to NOAA. And data for the year thus far, rather than for one month, indicate that 2009 is among the warmest years on record for the planet.
