Weather Maps: The Color Changing Conspiracy Theory

A Facebook user in Georgia accuses Spanish weather presenter Roberto Brasero of intentionally manipulating his weather forecast. A Twitter user with a German username claims that both Germany and Austria are "spreading panic" by exaggerating the colors of their weather maps to represent current temperatures .

What do all of these phenomena have in common?

Climate change disinformation knows no bounds, and this new conspiracy theory about the alleged "color change" leads to situations as unlikely as that of a Georgian citizen questioning a Spanish weather presenter's forecast.

This is a specific type of disinformation that conspiracy theorists are currently using to claim that climate change doesn't exist . They also claim that the weather forecasters intentionally manipulate the colors of their cards to spread fear. But that's a false claim: all of these posts are trying to compare cards that express different things (hence they can't be compared).

UK, Germany, France, Sweden and Spain, among others . They point to television networks and accuse them of manipulating weather forecasts to exaggerate climate change . However, it is a hoax and on the website Maldita.es we have compiled all this disinformation into a compilation about what the different elements of the weather maps really mean.

This is some of the most important information to avoid falling for the “color change” scam:

One of the techniques conspiracy theorists use is a misleading comparison of a topographic map (which does not change colors) with another about temperatures (which changes).

One of the most infamous cases is this comparison of two weather maps of Germany, which supposedly show that temperatures that were colored green in 2017 are colored red today. This card is circulating in Georgia, Denmark and Spain, among others.

However, as we have already explained on Maldita.es, it is a hoax and the comparison was misleading: the first map published with green colors was in reality a topographic map (which does not change its colors) from the year 2017, and the second, a temperature map (which changes) from 2022. Therefore they cannot be compared with each other.

A key element to detecting this type of disinformation is distinguishing between a topographic map and a temperature map.

Topographic maps are images that show the relief of the earth's surface. Sometimes they include geographical features such as rivers, lakes, etc. Other times they simply show different colors (within the same hue, usually green) to represent the elevation of the various mountain ranges in the area. These maps are very commonly seen on the various weather shows and correspond to most of the “green” maps used for weather map disinformation.

Although these maps may have numbers to reflect the temperature forecast or graphics of suns and clouds to show the weather forecast, they typically do not adjust their colors to reflect the temperature. That is, a topographic map will be green if it shows a number with a temperature of, for example, 49ºC, but it will also remain green if it shows a temperature of, for example, 5ºC.

Temperature maps or “heat maps”, on the other hand, are maps that show the expected temperature in a specific area, with the colors adjusted . There are many different types, and each television station and even program may use its own color codes for these types of maps (red does not always correspond to a high temperature and green to a cold one).

The sun and cloud symbols on a weather map do not indicate the expected temperature (nor do they need to change colors depending on it), but rather the weather forecast

Another case that Maldita.es has found in several countries and with different maps is comparisons between maps that reflect the weather forecast with sun and cloud symbols (i.e. whether the weather will be sunny, cloudy, etc.) and other map types, in usually temperature maps. Reflective cards can, but do not necessarily, change their colors to match the expected temperature. The possible combinations are endless and every television channel and program has its own style.

This was the case with content that supposedly showed a comparison of two Swedish weather maps and that spread in Spanish but also in English ( HERE and HERE ). However, it is a hoax.

This was also the case with another map of Germany that was shared by users on social networks in Austria, Spain, France, the Netherlands and Norway, to name a few. However, in all cases they are hoaxes and although each case has its particularities, they all relate to the phenomenon we are explaining.

In these cases, it is important to remember that a sun appears on a weather forecast map when the weather is expected to be sunny, regardless of whether 15ºC or 45ºC is expected. So this cannot be compared to a temperature map that adjusts its color depending on the expected temperature.

As with the map of Sweden, even the same map (topographic, which does not change colors) can contain a temperature forecast (expressed with numbers) and a weather forecast (with the sun). It is important not to confuse them.

A map with meteorological warnings and another with forecast maximum temperatures are not the same

Another case that became known in Spain, but also in other countries such as Georgia, and broadcast in English, was the weather forecast by Roberto Brasero on Antena 3 (a Spanish television channel), which was also accused of manipulation and “exaggeration” in the color of the Temperatures were blamed. Brasero himself explained on Twitter that the broadcast content of 2017 and 2022 could not be compared because they showed different things. The maps used different color ranges as the first (with green and softer colors) was a temperature warning map and the second was a maximum temperature map.

In addition, Brasero provided two weather maps of the same type (temperature warnings) for the two days to which the disseminated content allegedly referred. Upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that these are indeed different color ranges and that in 2022 this type of temperature warning maps still uses soft colors (yellow and green).

Many weather shows change the style and colors of their maps over time, with the seasons, or even with different presenters

Finally, one of the most important elements to keep in mind when dealing with disinformation or misinformation about climate change is that for stylistic reasons, every television station, program, and even weather forecast presenter may have a different style . This may mean that they use different colors for their maps, different areas or shades, different symbols, etc. Therefore, you have to be very careful when comparing weather maps from different programs and especially different countries.

Maldita.es explains that this type of disinformation has occurred, among others, with maps of the United Kingdom or France , which were compared despite belonging to different channels and using different styles. Recently, maps of Bulgaria , Poland , Switzerland , Austria , etc. have also been distributed on the networks.

In each case, maps from different television channels were compared, using different color codes, or in the case of the United Kingdom, the date of publication of the map was incorrectly stated (which was not current but was from 2016, when temperatures were considered extreme and red could be colored).

Related: Another year already gone? The hellish red weather maps are back!

Source: EDMO
This article was originally published on Maldita.es on July 29, 2022.

Fact-checking organizations that contributed to this analysis: Maldita, Demagog, Ellinika Hoaxes, Faktograf, Faktoje.al, Funky Citizens, Grass, Pagella Politica, Re:Baltica, TjekDet.dk
When preparing this article, we focused on the Collaboration with the following fact-checkers included: Evita Puriņa (from Re:Baltica ), Elena Calistru and Ana Poenariu ( Funky Citizens ), Tommaso Canetta ( Pagella Politica ), Pawel Terpilowski ( Demagog ), Thanos Sitistas ( Ellinika Hoaxes ), Viola Keta ( Faktoje .al ), Mariam Tsitsikashvili ( Grass ), Jelena Berkovic ( Faktograf ) and Andreas Søndergaard Petersen ( TjekDet.dk ).