Recently, social media users have been blaming “geoengineering” and “weather manipulation” for the erratic weather in June. However, this accusation is not grounded in scientific evidence. The cooler weather in June was caused by colder air coming from the Arctic. This was reversed in the last week of the month as warmer air moved in, bringing the UK temperature closer to normal, but it was still 0.4C colder than average. This, combined with one of the wettest winters in recent years, has left many wondering what is going on with the British weather.
Some social media users have claimed that the cooler weather suggests climate change may not be real. However, short-term weather events are not representative of long-term climate trends in the UK. Recent decades have proven warmer, wetter, and sunnier than those in the 20th Century, highlighting the continuous change in the climate.
One narrative that has been gaining momentum among those who deny the existence of climate change is the allegation that the government is supposedly controlling both weather and climate for sinister purposes. By using social media analytics tools, BBC Verify found that conversation around these topics has been gaining momentum this year. In fact, since January, mentions of #GeoEngineering on X more than doubled worldwide, compared with the last six months of 2023. However, the claims associated with these theories are often false and spread by conspiracy theorists.
The most well-known form of weather modification is cloud seeding – a technique used to produce rain or snow by releasing tiny particles into existing clouds. While some social media users have claimed that the rainfall across the UK could only be explained by the deployment of cloud seeding on an industrial scale, that is false since cloud seeding can only have small, targeted impacts, and it does not affect long-term weather or the climate. That is where the idea of geoengineering comes in.
Geoengineering is an umbrella term commonly used to describe attempts to manipulate the environment to reduce the effects of climate change. As the earth is likely to heat up by more than 1.5C in the next few decades, some scientists believe governments should be looking into alternative methods of cooling the Earth. However, there is no evidence to suggest that removing gases like carbon dioxide has any impact on short-term weather or that the UK government is deploying solar radiation management.
Unfortunately, several social media users frequently tweet about “chemtrails,” a widely debunked conspiracy theory about a secretive plot to spray people with dangerous chemicals. Such conspiracy theories have led to abuse targeted at weather forecasters, which can have chilling effects and scare off potential donors of research projects
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