Under scrutiny (Image: Andrzej Krauze)

WHAT is it like being a climate scientist at the moment? Not much fun. It’s a bit like your next-door neighbour being accused of a crime and everyone in the city you live in, including yourself, being told they are under suspicion as well. Accusations about lack of integrity, deceit and bias are flying thick and fast.

To most climate scientists, these accusations seem deeply unfair: mistakes may have been made, but it is wrong to condemn the whole of climate science as incompetent, corrupt or worse.

Do climate scientists have a cause, or a …