{"id":115378,"date":"2009-12-30T12:31:38","date_gmt":"2009-12-30T17:31:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nw0.eu\/2009\/12\/30\/the-uk-meteorological-office-slightly-less-reliable-than-tea-leaves-or-cock-entrails.html"},"modified":"2009-12-30T12:31:38","modified_gmt":"2009-12-30T17:31:38","slug":"the-uk-meteorological-office-slightly-less-reliable-than-tea-leaves-or-cock-entrails","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/115378","title":{"rendered":"The UK Meteorological Office: slightly less reliable than tea leaves or cock entrails"},"content":{"rendered":"

James Delingpole
\nLondon Telegraph<\/a>
\nWednesday, Dec 30th, 2009<\/span><\/p>\n

One of my personal favourite Comedy Moments of 2009 came in the
\nunlikely context of a BBC Radio 5 Live debate on climate change. The
\nfemale presenter, as we\u2019ve come to expect of the BBC, was quite
\nshamelessly biased towards the Warmist camp, but this apparently
\nwasn\u2019t enough for the show\u2019s resident weatherman. When his
\nturn came to read the weather, he instead chose to deliver an impromptu
\nhomily on the seriousness of Anthropogenic Global Warming. I forget the
\nexact words but his speech began something like:  \u201cWell I
\nwork for the Met Office and I\u2019d just like to say\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dear, oh dear. The poor chap. I fear the time will soon come \u2013
\nif it hasn\u2019t already \u2013 when the phrase \u201cI work for
\nthe Met Office\u201d will command about as much respect as \u201cI
\nwas in charge of the New Orleans levee defences in the run-up to
\nKatrina\u201d or \u201cI\u2019m head of security at Lagos
\nInternational Airport.\u201d  The UK Meteorological Office
\n\u2013 established in 1854 \u2013 is supposed to be Britain\u2019s
\ngreatest authority on forecasting the weather. So how come  these
\ndays its predictions are so risibly inaccurate you\u2019d probably be
\nbetter off consulting tea leaves or cock entrails?<\/p>\n

We all remember (with some bitterness) the glaring contrast between
\nthe Met Office\u2019s rosy prediction of a \u201cbarbecue
\nsummer\u201d and the chilly wash-out we actually experienced. This
\nmonth, you may have noticed, they\u2019ve screwed up yet again. A
\n\u201cmild winter\u201d was what the Met Office promised us. But a
\n\u201cmild winter\u201d (clue: notice how many fewer toes you have
\nthan you did in June) is what we definitely haven\u2019t got<\/a>.
\nThis has not, of course, prevented the Met Office coming up with one of
\nits characteristic \u201ceven though we\u2019re wrong we\u2019re
\nright\u201d defences:<\/p>\n

\n

A Met Office spokesman said: \u201cThat forecast was
\ndealing with the whole of the winter. December has certainly been cold
\nbut the prediction is for December, January and February.\u201d<\/p>\n

He believed the \u201cclimate team\u201d was updating the prediction \u201cperhaps over the course of the next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesman added: \u201cIt has certainly been a cold winter so
\nfar in most parts but the seasonal forecast has not been proven one way
\nor the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said the weather was expected to remain cold for \u201cthe next
\nweek or so\u201d but he could not comment on the longer term.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Interesting that \u201ccould not comment on the longer term\u201d
\nbit. Normally, this is the Met Office\u2019s prime speciality. It may
\nnot be able to tell us with any reliability what the weather is going
\nto be like next weekend. But ask it to predict what global climate is
\ngoing to be up to in 50 or a 100 years time and its prescience is truly
\nuncanny. It\u2019s going to be warmer, apparently. Much, much warmer.
\nWith drastically risen sea levels. Melted glaciers and ice caps.
\nRavening packs of emaciated polar bears cruising the world on
\ndiminishing ice floes. etc.<\/p>\n

Full article here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\n

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