False claims are spreading on social media suggesting that the BBC has misreported temperatures in southern Europe.
A video of Neil Oliver, a JB News anchor, accusing the BBC and "others" of "stirring fear" by reporting on "supposedly terrifying temperatures" has had more than two million views.
Over the past few weeks, an intense heatwave has swept across parts of southern Europe and northern Africa, with major fires breaking out in Greece, Italy and Algeria, leading to more than 40 deaths.
Speaking about the fires on the Greek island of Rhodes, Oliver accused the BBC and other media outlets of trying to "instill fear in people about the weather".
"Those supposedly terrifying temperatures that were predicted all start with the number four... 40 this, then 40 that. All of them were obtained using satellite images of soil temperatures," he said.
"That temperature has never been used in weather and forecast reporting.
"On the contrary, the figure used is the temperature of the air, a few meters above the surface of the earth. The real temperatures, the air temperatures that really happened, were around 30 degrees".
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Oliver's claim that the BBC used ground temperature is false, as several BBC weather presenters have pointed out.
This is absolutely not true. The temperature being reported is AIR temperature above ground (over 1 meter+), not the GROUND temperature. Ground temperature will have been even higher in many of those locations, well in excess of 50°. https://t.co/23E9FLv1lK
- Tomasz Schafernaker (@Schafernaker) July 25, 2023
The BBC bases its weather forecast reports precisely on air temperatures.
For the second claim, that the "real temperatures" were around 30, Oliver did not specify the exact locations, but on Monday, July 24, several places across Europe recorded air temperatures above 40 degrees.
In Lamia, Greece, the air temperature was 45 degrees Celsius, the same as in Figueres in Spain (45,4 degrees), and in the Greek town of Gitio, 46,4 degrees Celsius was measured in the previous days.
GB News did not respond to a request from the BBC about Oliver's claims.
The BBC also asked Oliver for a comment.
How the BBC reports on the weather
The BBC relies on air temperature measurements in accordance with internationally agreed standards.
They are taken using devices that measure the temperature in the shade with free air movement.
For this reason, thermometers are placed inside Stevenson screens - purpose-built boxes with white slats at a height of 1,25 meters to prevent direct heat from the ground and other hard surfaces from affecting the reading.
Air temperature measurements in countries affected by the heat wave were obtained using instruments and methods approved by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), of which Great Britain is a member.
Soil temperatures can be measured with thermometers and satellites.
On average, they can be 10 to 15 degrees higher than the air temperature.
But the BBC does not use them in its weather reports and forecasts.
Other high temperature claims
Some social media users attacked the BBC, claiming that the BBC's reports did not match the actual temperatures.
Jerzo, in Sardinia, Italy, recorded an air temperature of 48,2 degrees Celsius on Monday, the highest temperature in Europe so far this year.
The BBC is one of the many media outlets that reported on this record.
But some took to social media to claim the reports were false.
Robin Monotti, a filmmaker with more than 81.000 Twitter followers, claims the BBC's reports are not supported by evidence.
But data from the Regional Agrometeorological Service of Sardinia confirm the reported high temperatures.
The BBC contacted Monotti who directed us to the website of the Italian Meteorological Service, which listed the various temperature readings for the day in Jerzu.
However, none of those readings were done in Jerzu itself, but in nearby municipalities, the nearest of which is more than 20 kilometers away.
He then stated that the equipment for obtaining that particular temperature reading was not up to international standards.
But the regional agrometeorological service of Sardinia she clearly indicated on her website that its weather stations work in accordance with WMO recommendations.
The World Meteorological Organization told the BBC that a temperature of 48,2 degrees Celsius was registered in Jerzu, in line with data from other stations across Sardinia.
However, they add that any temperature record is temporary until it is recognized by national or regional authorities, and eventually by the WMO.
Weather forecast
Weather forecasts are made using complex computer models and are updated when maximum temperatures are reached.
The goal of forecasters is to predict the actual temperatures as accurately as possible.
Small variations and changes in atmospheric conditions can significantly affect forecasted weather conditions.
Most meteorological organizations consider that the forecasted temperature that is within two degrees of the measured reading is accurate.
But even if forecasts for cities or entire regions are accurate, they don't always reflect small, local variations in temperature.
The BBC forecast a temperature of 47 degrees Celsius on the Italian island of Sicily on July 19.
Many Twitter users, including Monotti, claimed that the weather section of the BBC website listed a much lower temperature of 37 degrees Celsius in Palermo, the capital of Sicily.
The location of Palermo meant that the temperature in the city was lower than in other parts of the large Mediterranean island.
According to the data of the agrometeorological information service of Sicily, the highest temperature recorded that day was 44,8 degrees Celsius in the municipality of Francofonte.
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