Europe has the best collection of thermometer based temperature records extending back hundreds of years. By the very nature of temperature data these were generally collected in cities, stations have often moved or changed equipement and of course have been subject to centuries of growing urban heat island effect (UHI).
We all know that "global warming" is generally quoted only from the 1850's onward but what do these "world heritage" data collections tell us ?

We will start our little saga with a unique temperature record from southern Bavaria.
Hohenpeissenberg Meteorological Observatory is a rural site about 60 kms SW of Munich and we have data from 1781 to 1970. This must be the most rural long term thermometer record on the planet.
The graphic below shows there is no warming in Hohenpeissenberg from 1781 to 1970 and just for interest the NASA GISS homogeneity adjusted record for New York Central Park is shown indicating that Central Europe may not be the only place on the planet where there were warmer periods in previous centuries. The New York record has been adjusted down by 6 degrees C just to show the comparison to Hohenpeissenberg, there is no change to trends, both cool slightly.

NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies is based in New York I think.
More on 18th century European stations later.

Posted 6 October 2002

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