Donald Trump has been sent a letter by the US’s top scientific organisation for weather and climate researchers, correcting him on points made in a recent interview.
Talking to Piers Morgan, Mr Trump questioned much of the science of climate change, and appeared to suggest global temperatures were actually decreasing.
“There is a cooling, and there’s a heating. I mean, look, it used to not be climate change, it used to be global warming. That wasn’t working too well because it was getting too cold all over the place,” he said.
Though he expressed an appreciation for “clean air and clean water”, Mr Trump also suggested that polar ice is not melting.
“The ice caps were going to melt, they were going to be gone by now, but now they’re setting records. They’re at a record level,” he said.
Many scientists have already been vocal in discrediting the ideas suggested by the US President, and now the American Meteorological Society (AMS) has offered to help him understand the science of climate change.
In a letter, AMS executive director Dr Keith Seitter pointed Mr Trump in the direction of the “wealth of comprehensive and accurate information on climate change” available via US government agencies.
Dr Seitter expressed disappointment that Mr Trump has seemingly ignored the data from global scientific observations, especially given that US agencies like Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been instrumental in making those observations.
“Unfortunately, these and other climate-related comments in the interview are not consistent with scientific observations from around the globe, nor with scientific conclusions based on these observations,” wrote Dr Keith Seitter, executive director of the AMS.
The AMS is the largest scientific society for weather and climate scientists in the US.
Mr Trump’s comments about climate change were part of an extensive interview that touched on a range of subjects, from Brexit to feminism.
While the US President’s comments on climate change did not suggest a commitment to environmental action, he did state he would be willing to “go back” into the Paris climate agreement, but only if he could get “a good deal” for the US.
The AMS letter came in the wake of criticism from scientists over Mr Trump’s comments.
“Glaciers and ice caps are globally continuing to melt at extreme rate,” Dr Michael Zemp, director of the World Glacier Monitoring Service, told Reuters.
He stated the implication that glaciers and ice caps are growing “is simply wrong”.
“Or maybe he is referring to a different planet,” said Dr Zemp.
Dr Seitter offered the services of the AMS to help educate the US President about the facts of climate change.
“The American Meteorological Society stands ready to provide assistance in connecting Executive Branch staff with that knowledge and expertise to ensure that you and your staff are working with credible and scientifically validated information as you navigate the many difficult policy areas impacted by the Earth’s changing climate,” he wrote.