Conspiracy theories about the weather have been picking up steam recently as people turn to unverified and misleading information to try to explain the increasingly extreme weather happening across the globe.
In a post on the r/conspiracy subreddit, a Redditor offered a theory — with no evidence other than their own observations and later deleted by the original poster — on why Florida's hot and humid weather prevented them from venturing too far from their home. This one is a bit out there, but it bears examination to understand such theories and to take a moment to debunk them.
Without any access to any nearby buses or trains, they said it could take one to two hours to get to the public spaces closest to them. They explained they would have to turn back to go home out of fear of experiencing a heat stroke because of the exposure to the stifling heat.
"My theory is that the archons were controlling the weather machine in order to keep me in my zone," surmised the Reddit poster. "Has anyone else experienced inhospitable tempetures [sic] with no explanation when trying to leave their area?"
An archon was a chief magistrate or ruler in Ancient Greece, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, which also described them as "any of a number of world-governing powers that were created with the material world by a subordinate deity called the Demiurge (Creator)."
Sarcasm came quickly as people responded to the post.
"Perhaps its the climate change all the smart people have been telling us about since the 60's?" suggested one group member.
Another added, "No, no, that's a far too sensible scenario. It must be weather control."
Weather control to keep some people from straying too far from their own homes, of course, even despite advancements in cars, trains, and planes with air conditioning and other methods of getting around comfortably that such archons must have overlooked.
Weather conspiracy theories can have consequences. Meteorologists became concerned last year as dangerous theories grew in popularity online. Theories about weather control were circulated widely on social media last year after Florida was struck by a pair of major hurricanes that struck two weeks apart. Even a prominent congresswoman added fuel to the conspiracy fire.
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Definitely 💯 "There is an emergent bipartisan consensus over the need to combat disinformation surrounding natural disasters, which scientists argue will only increase in prevalence and intensity as climate change worsens," according to an article posted in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by Justin K. Canfil, an assistant professor of emerging technologies and international relations at Carnegie Mellon University.
Another commenter spoke to the benefits of building more walkable cities with public transportation.
"This wouldn't be an issue if we had 15 minute cities, but a lot of people seem to be opposed to that," they said.
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