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The conspiracy surrounding urban climate measurements and the German Weather Service (DWD)

Soberly viewed disenchantment of the claims: What is really behind the DWD's urban climate measurements?

Author: Claudia Spiess

Some users on social media are currently questioning the way the German Weather Service (DWD) places its weather stations. Due to an urban climate measurement network, these should increasingly be relocated to urban areas in order to make climate change appear more dramatic. This is illustrated by a video ( archived here ), in which the background music is supposed to send cold shivers down your spine.

Screenshot Facebook
Screenshot Facebook

In this article we examine the question of whether these claims have any basis in truth or whether they are misinformation.

The DWD’s urban climate measurement network

These allegations cannot be substantiated by facts. Felix Ament from the Meteorological Institute at the University of Hamburg makes it clear that there is no such development. This approach would violate the international standards of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) .

urban climate measurement network for several years , but the data from these stations are not part of the official DWD measurement network. This information is not included in the calculation of the Germany-wide average temperature values.

When asked by the DPA, Uwe Kirsche, spokesman for the DWD, explains that this urban climate measurement network has been used for several years “in order to be able to describe and quantify the urban heat island effect more precisely.” When published, the data from the urban stations will be expressly marked as not representative . Record values ​​are also recorded in the open.

Refutation of the claims

Meteorologist Felix Ament points out that due to WMO rules, too little measurement is actually taking place in cities. For this reason, the DWD decided to set up the municipal stations. But – and this is important to know – “of course they are not simply stirred into the same pot with all the other stations and then you simply form an average value,” explains Ament.

What's more, due to increasing development, measuring stations from inner cities are increasingly being relocated to the surrounding areas so that reliable results can be obtained.

The DWD press director emphasizes that the procedure for calculating the Germany-wide temperature average aims to minimize the influence of changes in the measurement network, such as the number of climate stations. Station shifts can occur over the course of decades. Any deviations that occur are “carefully corrected using scientific methods in accordance with international standards.” In the period from 1881 to 2022 , these adjustments have led to a temperature increase of 1.7 degrees Celsius.

“The DWD is neither systematically reducing its measuring network, nor are stations being shut down in “cold” locations,” Uwe Kirsche further emphasizes.

Fact check at a glance

Now let's review some of the main claims from the circulating video:

claimFact check
The DWD is intentionally moving weather stations to warmer cities to make climate change appear more dramatic.Incorrect. The DWD urban climate measurement network researches the heat island effect and is not part of the official measurement network. The data from these stations are not included in the calculation of the Germany-wide average temperature values.
The DWD is systematically reducing its monitoring network.Incorrect. The DWD has no interest in relocating its measurement network towards cities. Stations in inner cities are more likely to be relocated to the surrounding areas or the periphery in order to obtain more precise results.
The shifts of stations strongly influence the temperature data.Incorrect. The DWD uses a calculation method that minimizes the influence of changes in the measurement network and carefully corrects deviations.
Meteorologists use the heat island effect to dramatize climate change.Incorrect. The DWD's urban climate measurement network is used to research the heat island effect and not to manipulate climate data.
Climate change is not real.Climate change is a scientifically proven fact and is recognized by experts worldwide.

Conclusion

MIMIKAMA

The conspiracy theory that the DWD is intentionally moving weather stations to cities to make climate change appear more dramatic cannot be supported by facts. Although the DWD operates a separate urban climate measurement network to investigate the heat island effect, the data from these stations has no influence on the calculation of the Germany-wide average temperature values. The allegations against the DWD are unfounded.

We should rely on science and evidence to address the pressing challenges of climate change.

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Source:

DPA

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Notes:

1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication
.
The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual articles (not fact checks) were created using machine help and
were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )


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