CNN posted a graphic alongside a story about the summer's high temperature, claiming it has been the hottest average in over 120,000 years.
The dubious claim from the citied scientists aside, the graphic CNN posted turned even more heads because of what was depicted. It shows heavy smoke with three women, who are all wearing sweaters and jackets, with one of the women wearing a mask.
Heat waves in three continents have driven the planet's average temperature in July to levels not seen in 120,000 years, scientists say https://t.co/IMX5qsZPig pic.twitter.com/GMr1XYrSDy
— CNN (@CNN) July 27, 2023
The comical side by side of people wearing sweaters and masks outside during a supposed unprecedented heat wave did not go unnoticed:
LOOK AT THIS PICTURE I AM FRIKKING HOWLING 😂😂😂😂😂😂 https://t.co/dLD2I6Haiu pic.twitter.com/MZSvZVo43X
— Oilfield Rando (@Oilfield_Rando) July 27, 2023
We've only been measuring temperature semi-accurately since the 19th century, but go off.
— Tony Kinnett (@TheTonus) July 28, 2023
They are wearing sweaters and masks in the heat wave photo. https://t.co/teqW9QtVAq
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) July 27, 2023
Any reason they’re wearing sweaters and coats in the picture?🤡🤡🤡
— Jim Verdi (@jjverdi) July 28, 2023
"We have just lived through the hottest three-week-period on record – and almost certainly in more than a hundred thousand years," CNN reported, going on to say:
The data used to track these records goes back to 1940, but many scientists – including those at Copernicus – say it’s almost certain that these temperatures are the warmest the planet has seen in 120,000 years, given what we know from millennia of climate data extracted from tree rings, coral reefs and deep sea sediment cores.
'These are the hottest temperatures in human history,' said Samantha Burgess, deputy director at Copernicus.