University of Kwazulu-Natal

Cherry Picked Ocean Data Does Not Prove Climate Change Is A Hoax

Bonisiwe Shabane
-
cherry picked ocean data does not prove climate change is a hoax

An ocean temperature decrease between 2013-2022 proves global warming is a hoax. Misleading. The claim is based on cherry-picked data and evidence shows global warming is real. AAP FACTCHECK - A small decrease in ocean temperatures over eight years does not disprove global warming, despite claims being made online. A graph based on data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that shows global ocean temperature data from 2014 to 2022 is being used as evidence to undermine the science of... While the graph indicates a 0.02C decrease over the period, long-term data shows a clear warming trend.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab "We are constantly being lied too (sic)," says a May 6, 2025 post on Threads. The post shares an image juxtaposing two charts measuring sea ice extent. One is from December 24, 1979, while the other from December 24, 2024. "Antarctic sea ice extent is 17% higher today than it was in 1979," text under the charts reads. Similar claims also appeared on other platforms, including Instagram and X.

Narratives seeking to deny the impact of climate change on the Arctic and Antarctic -- the polar regions surrounding the North and South poles -- often rely on sea ice data to make misleading... A Jan. 29 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows heat maps of the U.S. and makes a series of claims about climate and weather. "Global cooling was real from 1944 to 1982," reads text in the post. "Global warming was real from 1983 to 2006.

Since 2007, sea ice has been expanding at both poles. 2021 was the coldest winter ever recorded in Antarctica. The Earth goes through cycles which aren't caused by man." The post also states that January 1990 was warmer than 2025 and asks "a climate hoaxer" for an explanation. The post was shared more than 2,000 times in two weeks. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | Email newsletter | Facebook page

A scientist has taken to social media to provide important context surrounding the claims of an online influencer who sought to downplay the significance of rising global temperatures. "On a personal note, I think that climate anxiety is really genuinely a problem, and we shouldn't give up hope," Doug McNeall, a climate scientist, says in his TikTok video. "But we should also be really clear-eyed about the challenges that are facing us due to the real and present threat of climate change, both now and in the future." As McNeall explains, rising global temperatures have not impacted every region of the world identically. While the temperatures in some areas have risen dramatically in recent decades, others have seen more incremental changes. Given the variability of climate around the globe, this sort of variation is what climate scientists would expect.

However, some online influencers have used these regional differences to cherry-pick data, misleadingly suggesting that temperatures have been rising less than climate scientists and their models have said. In the case of the influencer that McNeall critiques, she used a chart showing only temperature data from the Midwest region of the United States from 1973 through 2022. However, as McNeall points out, using a map showing temperature changes around the globe, the influencer chose one of the areas that has experienced the lowest increase in temperatures. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a website devoted to helping people understand climate change, but some social media posts claim the agency’s own data dispels the notion that the planet is warming. "NOAA makes it official," reads a screenshot of a tweet from Junkscience.com founder Steve Milloy. "Last 8 years...

global cooling... at a rate of 0.11°C/decade.... despite 450+ billion tons of emissions worth 14% of total manmade CO2 in the atmosphere. CO2 warming is a hoax." Junkscience.com is a website that tries to undermine climate science. The tweet included a bar graph of "global land and ocean January-December temperature anomalies" from 2015 to 2022.

An Instagram post sharing a screenshot of the tweet was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

People Also Search

An Ocean Temperature Decrease Between 2013-2022 Proves Global Warming Is

An ocean temperature decrease between 2013-2022 proves global warming is a hoax. Misleading. The claim is based on cherry-picked data and evidence shows global warming is real. AAP FACTCHECK - A small decrease in ocean temperatures over eight years does not disprove global warming, despite claims being made online. A graph based on data from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (...

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., Opens New Tab

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab "We are constantly being lied too (sic)," says a May 6, 2025 post on Threads. The post shares an image juxtaposing two charts measuring sea ice extent. One is from December 24, 1979, while the other from December 24, 2024. "Antarctic sea ice extent is 17% higher today than it was in 1979," text under the charts reads. Similar clai...

Narratives Seeking To Deny The Impact Of Climate Change On

Narratives seeking to deny the impact of climate change on the Arctic and Antarctic -- the polar regions surrounding the North and South poles -- often rely on sea ice data to make misleading... A Jan. 29 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows heat maps of the U.S. and makes a series of claims about climate and weather. "Global cooling was real from 1944 to 1982," reads text in the post. ...

Since 2007, Sea Ice Has Been Expanding At Both Poles.

Since 2007, sea ice has been expanding at both poles. 2021 was the coldest winter ever recorded in Antarctica. The Earth goes through cycles which aren't caused by man." The post also states that January 1990 was warmer than 2025 and asks "a climate hoaxer" for an explanation. The post was shared more than 2,000 times in two weeks. More from the Fact-Check Team: How we pick and research claims | E...

A Scientist Has Taken To Social Media To Provide Important

A scientist has taken to social media to provide important context surrounding the claims of an online influencer who sought to downplay the significance of rising global temperatures. "On a personal note, I think that climate anxiety is really genuinely a problem, and we shouldn't give up hope," Doug McNeall, a climate scientist, says in his TikTok video. "But we should also be really clear-eyed ...