Man bites dog.

In an effort to establish scientific credibility climate change sceptics funded a independent study into temperature records. Their central hypothesis, that data was insufficient, flawed or corrupted, was explored.

Our aim is to resolve current criticism of the former temperature analyses, and to prepare an open record that will allow rapid response to further criticism or suggestions.  

The group dismissed previous data

We are using over 39,000 unique stations, which is more than five times the 7,280 stations found in the Global Historical Climatology Network Monthly data set (GHCN-M) that has served as the focus of many climate studies.

The criticism of existing climate change science has attracted considerable attention

Funding came from a number of sources, including charitable foundations maintained by the Koch brothers, the billionaire US industrialists, who have also donated large sums to organisations lobbying against acceptance of man-made global warming.

"I was deeply concerned that the group [at UEA] had concealed discordant data," Prof Muller added.

"Science is best done when the problems with the analysis are candidly shared."

The team also examined concerns over the so-called urban heat island effect, which causes higher temperature readings near cities and has been used by sceptics as evidence of data being skewed.

The problem for the sceptics is that the study did not prove that their scepticism was reasonable

Our biggest surprise was that the new results agreed so closely with the warming values published previously”

They have the picture to prove it

As Warren Buffett once wryly observed

It's only when the tide goes out that you learn who's been swimming naked.

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