Topic: Weather Stations

Officials from NASA and NOAA explain the process of "quilting together" data from land-based weather stations, ocean buoys, and ships to track global temperatures. They assert that 2024 exceeded the 1.5-degree Celsius threshold, leading to more extreme weather and wildfires. The hosts contrast these reports with news of a record cold snap in the United Kingdom, mocking past predictions that children in the UK would never see snow again.

The conversation addresses the logistical difficulty of dismantling large construction cranes before a storm, which can take up to two weeks. A producer provides a report claiming that actual ground-based weather stations often record lower wind speeds than those reported by the National Hurricane Center. There is a further claim that some weather stations are intentionally disabled when a hurricane makes landfall to avoid recording data that contradicts official estimates.

The hosts conclude by discussing reports that NOAA and GISS have significantly reduced the number of active weather stations from 6,000 to 1,500 since the 1970s. They allege this reduction creates a warming bias by removing data from higher latitudes and elevations. The episode ends with a call for listener support and a reminder that the show operates on an "oath of poverty" to provide independent analysis.