My brother Geoff is not an engineer – he works in information technology but qualified as a zoologist. He believes fervently in climate change. Recently, he sent me a link to the South African Journal of Science. This led to an article which discussed the occurrence of the annual sardine run off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal. An extract: “The sardine run – the annual migration of sardines along South Africa’s east coast – is occurring later each year. In recent years, it has even failed to take place. Any delay has significant implications for fisheries and tourism, as the associated dolphin, whale and shark sightings are an important tourist attraction. [Senior lecturer at the University of the Witwatersrand Jennifer] Fitchett and colleagues explored changes in the timing of the sardine run over the period 1946 to 2012 and found that the delay – 1.3 days per decade – is related to regional sea surface warming, ENSO conditions . . . all factors of a changing climate.”

Then, from New Scientist: “As the world warms, yet another all-time national heat record has been set. The 38.7 ºC recorded in Cambridge Botanic Garden on July 25 during the recent European heatwave has now been confirmed to be the highest temperature ever recorded in the UK.”

The article continues: “The heatwave disrupted train travel, as overhead wires on railways sagged and tracks buckled in the heat. Severe thunderstorms triggered by the heat and humidity also caused delays to flights.”

Then there is another report: “Anchorage International Airport has just reached 89 ºF (31.6 ºC). The all-time record high temperature for Anchorage has officially been broken. The previous record of 85 ºF (29.5 ºC) was set on June 14, 1969, (period of record 1952 to 2019).”

Now all this looks pretty grim, doesn’t it? It does, but not for the reasons you may think. It is grim since these are all scientific reports. And all are alarmist untruths. Starting with the sardine run: “in recent years, it has even failed to take place”. So, look it up. To find that, in 2003, the sardines failed to ‘run’ for the third time in 23 years and 2006 marked another non-run. Good grief! Does an occurrence in 2006 qualify as a ‘recent year’, compared with 2019? Then the article says: “Any delay has significant implications for fisheries and tourism, as the associated dolphin, whale and shark sightings are an important tourist attraction.” Then we discover that the delay is estimated as 1.3 days per decade. Per decade? So, in 100 years’ time, it will be 13 days late. And this will “have significant implications for fisheries and tourism”. Serious?

So, moving on to the UK highest temperature. The previous yearly highest was 38.5 ºC (2003) and now this record has been ‘smashed’ by a new temperature of 38.7 ºC, being 0.2 ºC higher and not recorded at the same place? This is just background noise – saying that a decimal fraction is an accurate measurement. It may be, but it is hardly significant.

We do have to comment on the “overhead wires on railways sagged and tracks buckled in the heat”. Really? If the overhead wires sagged and the tracks buckled, then there is something wrong with engineering in the UK. The fact is that 38 ºC is not high enough to cause any of this.

And . . . Alaska. Well, 89 ºF is much higher than 85 ºF. It is. So should we be worried? We discover that, at the time, the ASOS (Aviation weather station) that made the Anchorage record was surrounded by construction equipment (which may have affected things) and that Government Hill station in Anchorage, about 5.6 miles away to the north-east, only registered 79 ºF, about the same time on July 4. So, near a tarmac runway it gets hotter? I knew that, bro. The point is: increasingly, often people who call themselves ‘scientists’ are twisting information. Why? To spread myths in order to get grants? To just publish? The worst is that this convinces people who are not educated to believe what is not true. Very bad faith, I think.