Scientists have criticized a report published by the U.S. House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, claiming that the record-high global temperatures had nothing to do with climate change.

While 2015 was the hottest year on record, researchers worldwide agree that 2016 will beat this record. The House Science Committee cited the report as it was summarized on Breitbart News. Later, right-wing media sources have cited the article and it has been consequently refuted by other news sites, including Bernie Sanders, claiming it is wrong, misleading, and irresponsible.

Polar Bear, Ice Melting
The report does affirm that the 2015-2016 El Niño was significantly stronger compared to any other on record, as it managed to warm up oceanic waters up to an additional 3°C. Image credit: ThingLink.

Is the report right or left?

The report, first presented on The Daily Mail, assures that global temperatures have actually dropped 1°C since the middle of the year, being the “biggest and steepest fall on record.” It builds on the fact that it was the El Niño phenomenon which caused the erratic changes in global temperatures, “suggesting [the] rise may not be down to man-made emissions.”

It states that NASA’s head climate scientist Dr. Gavin Schmidt backs up the long-term global warming theory, caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, while the report puts the blame on El Niño, mainly because it occurs every few years with different magnitudes of temperature variation.

Being the primary source of climate change expertise, NASA’s $1.9 billion funding for climate research will be cut by Donald Trump, and then diverted to another agency, as the President-elect supports the theory that climate change is a plan made up by China to force the United States to cut its energy production.

The Daily Mail’s report was cited by James Delingpole on Breitbart, which was then published by the House Science Committee, leading to controversy about the facts posed by the media sources.

“This is why there is such an ideological divide regarding climate change between those on the left and those on the right. The lefties get their climate information from unreliable fake news sites like Buzzfeed,” wrote James Delingpole.

On the other hand, scientists from the National Centers for Environmental Information claimed that, although the El Niño theory was right, it is completely plausible that climate change is taking place just as an El Niño anomaly also took place.

There are also claims that the Daily Mail report only cited land temperatures, which are more variable than oceanic temperatures, as water retains temperature for much longer compared to land. Scientists affirm that the so-called “slower decline” in temperatures was only perceivable in land temperature, not oceanic. Currently, land corresponds to just a 30 percent of the Earth’s surface, making the report biased and misguiding at best.

Whether they are right or wrong, both sides of the argument have supporters and the person in the lead is a stern man who firmly believes that climate change is a conspiracy.

We will just have to wait 4 years to see if a complete change of direction in the U.S.’s leadership in climate conservation will serve to debunk the right-wing theories denying global warming.

Source: The Daily Mail