Myth:
Temperature data is inaccurate because we don’t have good enough technology to measure the Earth’s surface, the oceans, the stratosphere or the troposphere. So, these cannot be relied on as indicators of global warming.
Fact:
Temperature measurements are not perfect but provide a very good picture of general trends. These all show significant warming. Interestingly, climate sceptics were happy to use temperature measurements when they thought they showed a fall in global temperatures or, at best, a temperature pause. This was the case in the seven years following 1998, when the temperature record was not broken till 2005. Since then, however, records have been broken repeatedly, so climate sceptics have become hostile to the very idea of measuring global temperatures.
It’s the same with climate models. Sceptics use them when they confirm their own views, but reject them when they don’t.
Sources:
M.J. Menne, C.N. Williams, Jr. and M.A. Palecki, “On the Reliability of the U.S. Surface Temperature Record,” Journal of Geophysical Review: Atmospheres, 2010
David Herring, “Can historical temperature data records be trusted? Haven’t they been skewed by non-climate factors like instrument changes and ‘urban heat islands’?” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 29/10/20. https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-qa/can-historical-temperature-data-records-be-trusted-havent-they-been-skewed
“The Raw Truth on Global Temperature Records,” NASA, 25/3/21. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/climate-change/the-raw-truth-on-global-temperature-records/
“Temperature 101: What we know about climate change,” NASA. https://plus.nasa.gov/video/temperature-record-101-how-we-know-what-we-know-about-climate-change-2/