Myth: The IPCC’s temperature figures show minimal warming

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s own figures show that the Earth has warmed far less than 1.3°C. 

Fact:

This view has arisen due to the fact that the IPCC’s temperature figures are averages and contain a significant margin of error. That margin of error is estimated to be 0.2°C above or below the stated figure of 1.3°C. While this does indeed mean that the Earth’s temperature could have risen by only 1.1°C since the second half of the 19^th century, it also means it could have risen by as much as 1.5°C. In other words, it’s possible the situation is not quite as bad as we fear (albeit still bad!); but it’s also possible that it’s worse. Climate sceptics are happy to assume that the official figure is an overestimation but shirk from the possibility that it is actually the opposite. The most reliable figure we have is the one officially used by the IPCC – the global average.