A group of scientists respond after UK government minister Heather Wheeler stated that it had been ‘widely reported on social media that 75% of the fires were started by arsonists’

We write as scientists alarmed that a minister has ignored scientific evidence, relying instead on grossly misleading social media sources. In the House of Commons on 9 January, Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister Heather Wheeler answered a question about the Australian bushfires by stating: “Very regrettably, it is widely reported on social media that 75% of the fires were started by arsonists.”

The claim that arson is a primary cause of this season’s bushfires has been comprehensively debunked: fire officers report that the majority of blazes were started by dry lightning storms. Nevertheless, social media is awash with false claims about the role of arson, obscuring the link between climate change and bushfires (Disinformation and lies are spreading faster than Australia’s bushfires, 11 January).

However fires start, they burn more severely because Australia is suffering extreme conditions which are directly linked to anthropogenic climate change: 2019 was the country’s hottest and driest year ever, with the temperature 1.5C above the long-term average. The Australian government was advised in 2008 that the effects of climate change on the fire seasons “should be directly observable by 2020”.

We ask that ministers rely on expert advice rather than social media. Beyond the present situation in Australia, it is important to acknowledge the role of climate change in many other circumstances worldwide, including in the UK.

As host of this year’s UN climate talks, the UK government is responsible for keeping the Paris agreement on track. It must tell the truth to parliamentarians, the public and Australian politicians about the causes and consequences of climate change.

Dr Stuart Capstick Cardiff University, Prof Colin Davis University of Bristol, Dr James Dyke University of Exeter, Prof Stephan Lewandowsky University of Bristol, Prof Richard Pancost University of Bristol, Prof Julia Steinberger University of Leeds

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