SA hotter in 1960-ABC wrong again-Part 5 a correction!

A small victory for common sense in regard to spurious temperature claims made earlier this year. (See Part 1, 2, 3, and 4.) We note the following note has been added to the story at the AM website:

*EDITOR'S NOTE: (6 March 2012): The original broadcast item suggested that it was the hottest start to 2012 for the entire state. In fact, more of the state, particularly outside Adelaide, was affected by record high temperatures in 1960. The transcript has been amended.

The amended line reads:  "Parts of South Australia are sweltering with their hottest start to the year in more than a century.*" But we know that is not what was stated. This odd re-writing of the transcript by ABC's "Ministry of Truth" is too close to 1984 for comfort. Why not just add the asterix to the line in contention and state they made an error?

Here's that 1960 Sun Herald front page again about events in 1960.

Alan Sunderland Head of Policy & Staff Development, ABC News,  provides the following additional information (our comments in bold):

Received 6/3/2012

Dear Mr Hendrickx,
Apologies for my reply earlier today.
I assumed that your decision to refer a matter to ACMA related to the current complaint we had been discussing recently, as my eye was caught by the identical first two words in the tag line in the subject header (factual inaccuracy). I did not read down and realise that it related to a separate earlier complaint of yours. (ed: that's this ONE about missing historical information from a story about inundation of islands in the Torres Strait).
So, to clarify the situation:-
1. In relation to the World Today story of 16th January relating to encroaching seas in the Torres Strait, I don’t have anything further to usefully add to our original response, so it is appropriate for you to pursue the matter with ACMA if you remain dissatisfied (ed post on this in the near future).
2. In relation to the AM story of 3rd January relating to temperatures in South Australia, I have now heard back from the reporter. As you know, the original report claimed that “South Australia is sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century.” When your original complaint was passed on to the program team, they relied on information relating to Adelaide temperatures to support that statement, and you responded by providing information relating to temperatures across the entire state. I do believe there is an argument that can be mounted that it is more relevant in the circumstances of this story to judge the accuracy of the remark by reference to the impact on population rather than the geographic spread. In other words, it would appear on the basis of the official data that more of the South Australian population was affected by the high temperatures in 2012 than were affected in 1960, even allowing for population growth in the intervening period (ed this is based on my very rudimentary analysis -see part 2, that only included data from stations with readings for 1960 and 2012. A more detailed analysis that included more stations across the state from both time periods would be warranted before this conclusion could be stated with any degree of confidence). My reason for delaying my response to you was to check back once again on the basis the program team had at the time to support the claim made in the story, rather than any subsequent reasoning. It now appears, having heard back from the program team, that they were simply relying on information provided to them by a range of sources, but they did not formally confirm that with official and reliable statistics. Under those circumstances, I think the information contained in the program is sufficiently broad and vague that it should be corrected through the addition of an Editor’s Note. In short, it was incorrect to describe it as “the hottest start to the year in more than a century” without further explanation, as 1960 was indeed hotter if you measure it in terms of how much of the state had record’s temperatures rather than in terms of how much of the state’s population experienced those record temperatures.
So an Editor’s Note will be added to the story online.
Regards,
Alan Sunderland
Score +1

SA hotter in 1960-ABC wrong again-Part 4

Continuing correspondence with the ABC on their claim made in a story headlined "Extreme heat in southern Australia" that "South Australia is sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century."  See earlier posts HERE, HERE and HERE.


From: Marc Hendrickx
Sent: Friday, 2 March 2012
To: Alan Sunderland
Subject: you get a mention in today's cut and paste
Hi Alan,
One for the scrap book! (you might need a subscription to access online)
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/count-on-aunty-to-dish-up-the-hyperbole-but-correcting-the-facts-may-take-a-little-longer/story-fn72xczz-1226286614585
cheers
Marc

From: Alan Sunderland
To: Marc Hendrickx
Date: Fri, Mar 2, 2012
Subject: RE: you get a mention in today's cut and paste

Marc,
As I mentioned when you sent your last three emails, we do take accuracy seriously, which is why we are following up your original complaint. What you do on your own website, or what you provide to other media organisations, is irrelevant to that process. I am sure you would like us to take the time to sort out the facts properly.
This has been made more difficult by the fact that the reporter who worked on the intro has been in the Middle East for some months, on the border of Lebanon trying to get into Syria. He’s had a few things on his mind.
The data you have provided is fascinating. As you know, it seems to indicate that of the 14 sources of average temperatures you included, seven were higher in 1960 and seven were higher in 2012. You have chosen geographic size as a basis for concluding 1960 has the edge. I would guess, given the location of those fourteen places, it might be possible to argue that 2012 has the edge in terms of population – the number of human beings actually affected by those temperatures. However, I’m just not sure. I haven’t had the time or the opportunity to chase that down exhaustively. There is quite a lot going on in the media at the moment, and I do try to prioritise and keep a sense of perspective.
But that’s kind of irrelevant, really. What matters is what information we based the sentence in the intro on at the time, and whether that information was sound and well-sourced. If it wasn’t, then we will need to add an Editor’s Note clarifying what the data reasonably tells us. Which gets us back to the delay of a couple of weeks while we find an opportunity to check back with the origin of the original statement –whether it was based on advice from the BOM or elsewhere.
If you genuinely want to hear back from me on what was a perfectly legitimate complaint, then rest assured that I will continue to treat the matter in that spirit. However, if you just want to use the issue to run some kind of media campaign on your own, then I guess my engagement and my reply is not going to make much of a difference. Nothing I can do about that….
Regards,
Alan Sunderland

from: Marc Hendrickx
to: Alan Sunderland
date: Fri, Mar 2, 2012 at 10:51 AM
subject: Re: you get a mention in today's cut and paste

Dear Alan,
I do genuinely want to hear back from you and I am not running some sort of "media campaign", I am merely interested in ABC living up to its charter and code of practice. I appreciate that constructive criticism is sometimes difficult to bear.

I am surprised at how much tax payers money you appear to be spending on an issue ABC NEWS do not actually have the expertise to answer. Perhaps you can ask the BOM which was hotter. Perhaps in the future your reporters might check the facts first, before making unsubstantiated sensationalist statements such as the one in question.

In regard to the complaint, if an editorial comment was added and the report were amended to read "Some parts of South Australia are sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century." you would have a defensible statement based on the information you have at hand.

Again, I look forward to hearing back from you once you have sorted it out, but on face value, for a story about a hot day in Adelaide, it doesn't seem that complicated. As you say "keep a sense of perspective".

Best Wishes
Marc Hendrickx
ABC NEWS WATCH

SA hotter in 1960-ABC wrong again-Part 3

Just to recap. In an item on ABC's morning current Affairs show, AM, under the headline "Extreme heat in southern Australia" ABC Claimed "South Australia is sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century."  We pointed out a number of times (Here and Here) that it was hotter in 1960. Given the implications of ABC's claim we thought it might be interesting to compare the front pages of the Sydney papers from 1960 and 2012. After all, if on January 1 and 2, 2012 South Australia was sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century. It should probably have made the headlines.
Let's compare the front pages of the Sydney Morning Herald from January 3, 4 and 5, 2012, with those from 1960.

Here's 2012 in order left to right January 3, 4 and 5:

Nothing there about the extreme heat in SA, on any day on the front page, There was this online, and on the 4th a headline on page 7 that read "At last Summer steps ashore"

Let's now look at 1960. First here's the front page of the Sun Herald from Sunday January 3, 1960, along with page 4. The front page story screams "123 degree record. Searing heat grips inland areas" and "Girl 6 near death 119 degrees" (click to enlarge).

Below is the front page from the Sydney Morning Herald, Monday January 4, 1960-"Three babies, woman, man die in heat":

And finally, here's the front page of the Sydney Morning Herald from January 5, 1960-"Heatwave toll now seven":

In early January 1960 central Australia experienced such extreme heat that records were set (the temperature in Oodnadatta remains the Australian record), at least 7 people died and birds dropped out of the sky. Our basic analysis (see HERE)  indicates temperatures were higher over a greater area in 1960. It made the front page of the Fairfax press in Sydney on three consecutive days. In early January 2012, the editors of the Sydney Morning Herald felt that three pages of cricket news was far more important than ABC's "hottest start to the year in more than a century."

ABC News: They just make things up!

SA hotter in 1960-ABC wrong again

Map showing weather stations in South Australia with continuous records from at least 1960 through 2012. Red stars indicate stations with average maximum temperature for January 1 and 2 1960 greater than January 1 and 2 2012, grey stars indicate the opposite. Note the extent of the red stars where ave max temp Jan1+2 for 1960 is greater than the same days in 2012. Data from BOM-see text below for methodology.

In our post Extreme weather misinformation at the ABC we took ABC to task for their claim  "South Australia is sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century." We pointed the ABC to the Bureau of Meteorology website that indicated a number of warmer periods over the course of the last 100 years or so and suggested ABC had it wrong. Indeed BOM's description of heatwaves in South Australa included this passage:

"A similar heatwave in January 1960 was not so sustained, because cool  changes brought relief, but temperatures exceeded 45°C in the north of the State from 31 December to 3 January. On 2 January, Oodnadatta reached a state record - and arguably an Australian record - of 50.7°C. The minimum that day was 34.6°C. The temperature again reached the low 40s on 6-8 January, and on the 10th. There were several deaths in the 1960 heat wave: five babies and eight adults died, including five found dead beside an outback road. Other victims were admitted to hospital with heat exhaustion, including 18 in Broken Hill. 

However hospitals would have provided little relief, because few were air-conditioned at that time.

http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/temp3.htm

ABC's Alan Sunderland (Head of Policy & Staff Development, ABC News) has now replied to our complaint of a factual error and offers this explanation:

Received Tue, Feb 21, 2012 

Dear Mr Hendrickx

It appears that you have mis-heard or mis-read what the ABC reported.

We did not say "South Australia's biggest heat wave" or the "hottest day in a century".  We said it was the state's hottest start to the year in more than a century. 

Our story went to air at 8am on the 3rd of January.  This means we were asserting that the first two days of 2012 were hotter than any other previous 1st and 2nd January days in the preceding century. 

Since receiving your complaint, we have double checked weather data for the state's most populous centre, Adelaide. 

Using figures from West Terrace from 1900 to 1977, and then from 1977 from Kent St, the hottest recorded temperatures for Adelaide for 1st and 2nd of January were in 1900 itself, with 43.1 and 42.1 degrees. This year Kent St recorded 41.6 and 40.6. There have been hotter days over this period but no other record of 2 days in excess of 40 degrees in a row.

Parafield Airport which has records back to 1929 has also never recorded two 40 degree days over the beginning of January until this year with 42.0 and 41.7.

The ABC does not profess to have investigated all weather data for all South Australian sites going back to 1912. However, we believe our report was accurate and appropriate, given the main focus of the story was on the electrical supply and fire safety consequences of record hot weather in South Australia.  It was most definitely not an attempt to mislead the Australian public.

Yours sincerely

Alan Sunderland Head of Policy & Staff DevelopmentABC News

From ABC NEWS WATCH to Alan Sunderland, sent Wed, Feb 22, 2012

Thanks Alan,
It seems your researchers are not doing their job properly. Again a quick search of the internet finds higher extremes across South Australia in January 1960. Indeed the temperature at Oodnadatta in SA for the second of January 1960 remains an Australian record. It's 50.7 degree celcius.

The top 4 records for South Australia are as follows (note the date):
Official records for South Australia in January
Records valid as of 31 January 2012 Rank Value
1 50.7 02 January 1960 Oodnadatta Airport 17043 117 -27.56 135.45
2 50.3 03 January 1960 Oodnadatta Airport 17043 117 -27.56 135.45
3 49.4 02 January 1960 Marree 17031 50 -29.65 138.06
3 49.4 02 January 1960 Whyalla (Norrie) 18103 13 -33.03 137.53

On the first of January it was 49.2 at Oodnadtta Airport.
(From http://www.bom.gov.au/cgi-bin/climate/extremes/daily_extremes.cgi?period=%2Fcgi-bin%2Fclimate%2Fextremes%2Fdaily_extremes.cgi&climtab=tmax_high&area=sa&year=1960&mon=1&day=1)

By contrast in 2012 for the 1st and 2nd of January Oodnadatta recorded 43.2 degrees C for each day.

BOM provide maps showing Australian daily maximum temperature extreme area. The map for 1st of January and 2nd of January area attached and these do not show much in the way of extremes for the state.

Your cherry picking of weather records for Adelaide says nothing about temperatures across the state. There is no basis to the claims made by ABC news that "it was the state's hottest start to the year in more than a century."
This is pure speculation on the part of ABC. Once again I ask you to clarify the record.
Perhaps ABC News could simply return to reporting to the facts without adding the unnecessary factually inaccurate hyperbole.
Regards

Marc Hendrickx

We noted that "ABC does not profess to have investigated all weather data for all South Australian sites going back to 1912. "

Neither did we. We spent about an hour on the BOM website and we only went back as far as January 1960, and we only looked at stations with continuous records over than time. We took the average of the maximum temperature for January 1 and 2 for the years 1960 and 2012 and plotted them on a map, producing the figure at the head of this post. Clearly a larger proportion of the state was hotter in 1960, than 2012. It seems the SE corner of SA was hotter in 2012, compared to 1960. This prompted the following additional email to Alan Sutherland.

Sent Wed, Feb 22, 2012

Alan, Further to my email of earlier today please find attached a map (ed-the map at the start of this post) based on BOM data that compares Max temps for Jan 1+2, 1960 to Jan 1+2 2012. This is for stations that include readings for both dates. Stations that do not include readings for both years were omitted. The distribution of temperatures indicates that a higher proportion of the state experienced higher temperatures in 1960 compared to 2012. This contradicts ABC's assertion made in its January report. BOM data is provided below, please feel free to check it.

Once again I request you correct the record.

Regards

Marc Hendrickx

Method. BOMs climate database was searched for stations with max. temp records from Jan 1-2, 1960 and Jan 1-2 2012. Max. temps were averaged over the two days.

Town	Station Number	Latitude	Longitude	Ave temp 1960	Ave temp 2012	difference
Oodnadatta	17043	-27.55	135.45	50	43.2	6.8
Adelaide Airport	23034	-34.94	138.53	37	39.8	-2.8
Woomera	16001	-31.17	136.81	46.6	41.8	4.8
Ceduna	18012	-32.13	133.68	39.2	37.7	1.5
Cleve	18014	-33.7	136.49	38.8	40.2	-1.4
Kyancutta	18044	-33.13	135.55	43.4	41.3	2.1
Streaky Bay	18079	-32.8	134.22	41.1	36.3	4.8
Marree	17031	-29.65	138.06	48.9	43.5	5.4
Yongala	19062	-33.03	138.75	39.6	39.3	0.3
Maitland	22008	-34.37	137.67	38.1	39.2	-1.1
Mt Barker	23733	-35.06	138.85	34.2	38.9	-4.7
Robe	26026	-37.16	139.76	24.5	30.5	-6
Mt Gambier	26021	-37.75	140.77	26.2	39	-12.8
lameroo	25509	-35.33	140.52	38.6	41.7	-3.1

ABC News: write the story, then they check the facts, and still they make mistakes. Is that value for money?

Extreme weather misinformation at the ABC

ABC NEWS WATCH enjoyed the new year from the comfort of a pool side lounge chair in a distant land positioned just above the equator, so we missed the "Extreme heat in southern Australia" that the ABC AM reported on the 3rd of January. Just as well as AM's Peter Cave reported the story in the following manner:

"South Australia is sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century."  Glad I was sipping cool beer elsewhere. That must have been some heatwave (though based on the evidence some would have just called it summer)!

So hottest since at least 1912? Let's test the validity of that claim (made by the ABC); mindful that just one observation is all that is needed to disprove the claim.

Start the clock:

1. open Google

2. type "Heatwaves in South Australia"

3. follow the first link to the Bureau of Meteorology page of the same heading.

4. Read the page (reprinted below)

5. Claim debunked. 

Time taken: about 2 minutes.

Heatwaves in South Australia Temperatures above 40°C are common in the north of South Australia  in summer, but rarely for such a prolonged period as in the first half  of January 1979. The heatwave began on 31 December, and up until  15 January, maximum temperatures of at least 45°C were a daily  occurrence in the north of the state, at places such as Marree and  Oodnadatta.  Further north, at Alice Springs in the Northern Territory, the temperature  exceeded 40°C on 12 days, but did not go higher than 42°C, in part  because of the town's elevation (546m). The extreme heat reached  further south on several days: at Port Augusta the mercury topped 44°C  on 6 days, and at Broken Hill in NSW on 7 days. Adelaide did not have  many days of extreme heat, but 42°C on 3 January was the highest  temperature for 11 years. Livestock and wild animals suffered. Kangaroos were found dead, and  100 cattle died on a train at Marree, despite the efforts of railway staff  to offload them (Around 1979 it was usual for 10 to 20 animals to die during  transport in hot weather). Hundreds of dead birds, including crows and  parrots, were found. A goods train was derailed at Immarna on the trans- continental line, probably because the rails buckled in the heat. A similar heatwave in January 1960 was not so sustained, because cool  changes brought relief, but temperatures exceeded 45°C in the north of the  State from 31 December to 3 January. On 2 January, Oodnadatta reached  a state record - and arguably an Australian record - of 50.7°C. The  minimum that day was 34.6°C. The temperature again reached the low 40s on  6-8 January, and on the 10th. There were several deaths in the 1960 heat wave: five babies and eight  dults died, including five found dead beside an outback road. Other victims  were admitted to hospital with heat exhaustion, including 18 in Broken Hill.  However hospitals would have provided little relief, because few were  air-conditioned at that time. http://www.bom.gov.au/lam/climate/levelthree/c20thc/temp3.htm

The highest temperature recorded in the 2012 "heatwave" at Adelaide Airport (BOM station ID 23034):

31 December 2011: 34.6

1 January 2012: 39.8

2 January 2012: 39.7

3 January 2012: 31.5

That ABC claim again: "South Australia is sweltering with the hottest start to the year in more than a century." Seems there will be no halt to the climate mis-information this year.

See Also

Warwick Hughes looks at other weather mis-information being spruiked by our national news service in his  post: Lies and misinformation on ABC news about heat waves

Ian Hill also covers the Adelaide "heatwave" at Jo Nova's site finding: There have only been 78 other heatwaves like that in Adelaide… and 51 were hotter

H/T to Warwick

Before the ABC: When weather equals climate change

Earlier this month ABC reported on warmer than average August temperatures in South Australia and managed to drag the specter of global warming into the story.
Looking over a few past headlines from an era prior to the ABC at the National Library's newspaper archive, it seems they have confused the weather and the climate.

The Advertiser - 29 August 1928: A hot day, record August Temperatures.
Kalgoorlie Western Argus -15 August 1911: Hot Weather in Adelaide.
The Advertiser - 27 August 1914: Breaking Records, Exceptionally dry August

Before the ABC: an occasional snapshot of news in the days BABC