Citizen journalist Ray Sanders of the Daily Sceptic has accused the UK Met Office of fabricating temperature data from over 100 non-existent weather stations, raising concerns about the accuracy of climate data used for government and research purposes.
Following a series of Freedom of Information requests and field visits, Sanders claims that 103 out of 302 weather stations cited by the Met Office do not exist, with four stations in his home county of Kent allegedly producing data despite their closure decades ago.
These concerns have been shared in an open letter to Peter Kyle, the new Labour Science Minister, in which Sanders calls for an “open declaration” of data inaccuracies to prevent the propagation of unreliable climate statistics.
Sanders’ investigation also highlights the Met Office’s use of poorly classified and situated stations that may yield inaccurate readings, potentially skewing national temperature records.
Citing issues such as locations in heat-absorbing urban areas and sites with a World Meteorological Organization (WMO) classification rating of Class 4 or 5—which allows for errors of up to 5°C—Sanders questions the scientific integrity of using such data to promote climate initiatives like “Net Zero”.
Despite repeated requests for comment, the Met Office has remained silent on the matter.
Critics argue that by excluding rural sites and relying on urban stations, data may be biased toward higher temperatures, potentially overstating the rate of warming.
Image credit: Michael Behrens
