In the midst of the heatwave that gripped Europe, a large number of reports on the extreme temperatures that have been recorded in the last century appeared on social networks to deny the existence of global warming, but these heat peaks, even assuming that they existed, are not contradicted. according to experts, the reality of the phenomenon, the France-Presse agency reported on Monday, citing Agerpres.

In recent weeks, netizens have posted reports of very high temperatures in decades, comparing them to current values ​​recorded during heat waves that crossed the continent in June and July.

The methods vary: they consult old almanacs, reference tables or old press articles to find, for example, temperatures over 50 degrees Celsius that would have been recorded in Spain. The goal is to deny global warming.

The fact that very high temperatures could have been observed in the past is, however, entirely compatible with global warming, explained experts consulted by AFP, who cautioned that the publications contained isolated data that, moreover, had not been properly verified.

52 degrees Celsius in Zaragoza?

One of the most popular social media posts in recent weeks is a screenshot of an article published by The New York Times in its June 23, 1935 edition, which claimed that a temperature of “127 degrees Fahrenheit,” which is 52.7 degrees Celsius, would be reached the day before in Zaragoza, in northeastern Spain.

This temperature is significantly higher compared to the national record currently set by the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AEMET), which recorded a value of 47.6 degrees Celsius on August 14, 2021 in La Rambla, a small town in Córdoba, Andalusia (in the south).

However, AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo told AFP Factuel that the maximum temperature recorded in Zaragoza that day was 39 degrees Celsius. “This value, above 52 degrees Celsius, is incorrect. It is not in our weather database, and in fact there is no record of it exceeding 50 degrees Celsius,” he assured.

However, “even if the meaning were correct — and I emphasize that it is not — it would not be evidence to deny (the existence of) climate change,” del Campo continued.

The Spanish daily La Vanguardia also wrote about record temperatures in 1935, however, stating that the values ​​of 51 and 52 degrees Celsius were recorded “in the sun”.

However, for the measurement to be valid, it must be carried out under conditions that meet very strict criteria, experts said.

“The sensors must be protected from the sun and rain, and the temperature inside the (meteorological) station must be the same as outside,” explained Ricardo Torrijo, meteorologist at AEMET. The temperatures above 50 degrees Celsius mentioned by La Vanguardia were recorded in the sun and are therefore invalid.

El Espanol’s August 1957 front page recently went viral on social media for the same reasons. Under the headline “Hottest summer of the century”, the page announced temperatures of around 50 degrees Celsius, but they were also recorded in the sun.

But even if the hypothesis reached 50 degrees Celsius, “that would not be a reason to doubt that the current situation is warmer,” said Isabel Cacho, a professor at the University of Barcelona and a climate change specialist.

Heat wave in Spain (Photo: JORGE GUERRERO / AFP / Profimedia)

Anomaly

“The anomaly of that day has a very small effect on the average (temperature)” in the long term, so “the trend does not change,” explained Pedro Zorrilla, a climate change expert at Greenpeace Spain.

Jose Luis García, a spokesman for the same environmental NGO, added that “these data on high temperatures cannot deny the existence of climate change” because “they have no connection”. He emphasized that “the data related to spot temperatures is one thing, and the increase in the trend and average temperature is quite another.”

Scientists have agreed that the recent increase in heat waves is a direct result of global warming, which is increasing their frequency, duration and intensity.