Media Math Fail: Why Everywhere Can’t Warm Faster Than the Global Average
By
Anthony Watts
August 7, 2025
Over the past several years, the mainstream media has repeated tired headlines declaring that “Region X is warming twice (or more) as fast as the rest of the world.” This is false, but it may not be immediately apparent why. These sensational comparisons present regional warming rates out of context. They exoticize statistical quirks in order to generate fear, with scant attention to uncertainties, baseline differences, or the urban heat island effect.
Recent headline examples include:
“Climate change heating up Canada 2× faster than ‘global rate’: expert” – Global News
America’s National Parks Are Warming Twice As Fast As The U.S. Here’s What That Could Mean In The Future – The Weather Channel
“Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average – WMO” – FoxWeather citing WMO/Copernicus
“Russia is warming disproportionately fast … average temperatures in Russia rose at more than double the rate seen worldwide between 1976 and 2018” – The Moscow Times
“Russia warming 2.5 times quicker than global average: ministry” – Phys.org summarizing Russian ministry data
“Asia warming twice as fast as global average, warns WMO report” – Times of India on Asia’s pace
https://climaterealism.com/2025/08/media-math-fail-why-everywhere-cant-warm-faster-than-the-global-average/
