How Reliable Are The Surface Temperature Data

It turns out, not very reliable. Anthony Watts at WattsUpWithThat has an ongoing project to find the truth. The results so far are not encouraging. If you want to visit some stations in your area, say while on a driving vacation this summer, and do a photo essay on what you find, look at surfacestations.org for USHCN sites that still needs surveying.

Why you might ask, is this not a matter of record? Good question, maybe the USHCN did not want to know the answer?

It's an all volunteer effort but the results are eye opening. Approximately 4% of the USHCN temperature monitoring stations surveyed so far meet the letter of the USHCN book for monitoring and accurately reporting on the surface temperature records. Most stations surveyed so far have siting problems which for the most part, bias the temperature readings upward.

If you use only stations that have correct siting, you get no temprature increase for the last years of 0.0 degrees C. Yes that's right, no change in surface temperature.

Running the numbers you get this distribution ...

CRN1 & 2: +0°C
CRN3: +1°C
CRN4: +2°C
CRN5: +5°C

The grand total is an average warm bias of 1.95°C per station.

CRN1 and CRN2 are the stations with the least problems, with CRN1 having met the siting specification.

How cool is that?