Scientist obliterates misleading claim regarding cold weather: 'You can see the pattern start to emerge'

TikTok user Dr. Doug McNeall (@dougmcneall), a climate scientist, created a video highlighting evidence that the planet is warming.

"You can see the pattern start to emerge," he pointed out.

@dougmcneall It's cold near me so global warming isn't real? #climatescience #climatechange #ecotok #climatecrisis #climate #temperature #globalwarming #climate ♬ original sound - Dr. Doug McNeall

McNeall showed a line graph created by one of his colleagues, climate scientist John Kennedy, displaying temperatures in central England for the last 150 years that show year-to-year temp variations. Subsequent lines in the graph show temperatures in the U.K., Europe, the Northern Hemisphere, and the world. 

Compared to the smaller localized region of central England, each line on the graph shows less temperature variation, year to year, as the region gets larger.

This data clearly debunks a misleading claim that is often used. People who do not believe that the planet is warming often state that they know it can't be true because it is cold where they are.

While it may be cold where they are at that given time — or even at most times — the overall trend clearly shows that the planet is warming.

In the video, if you look at the line of temperature fluctuations referencing central England, there are sharp swings — a lot of variability — as you might see in many regions of the planet. Some are quite cold, and there are drastic dips, even in recent years. We do, however, see an uptick in the line over time.

This becomes more apparent as the size of the region being monitored increases. We see less variation in the recorded temperatures. The upswing in average temperatures indicating that the planet is warming becomes clear, especially in the Northern Hemisphere.

A few commenters questioned the ideas and the validity of the science that McNeall presented in the video. 

One commenter said: "We can't see the temp scale. Have you accounted for statistical inaccuracies…?"

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McNeall responded by reminding them that the purpose of the video was to make a point about regional averages and that the scientist who made the plot is a world leader in climate study. He also suggested that the commenter simply Google the individual records.

By contrast, another TikToker commented: "Showing data to climate deniers is futile. They aren't convinced by logic."

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