The Warmists intent on impoverishing the world through limitations on the combustion of hydrocarbons had a field day with a little bit of phony data yesterday. Anxious to proclaim the heat wave affecting much of the Northern Hemisphere a surefire global warming catastrophe, the Washington Post threw in this data point, from the UK’s Met Office:

· In Scotland, Glasgow had its hottest day on record, hitting 89.4 degrees (31.9 Celsius). Previously, it was reported that Scotland set its hottest temperature on record of 91.8 degrees (33.2 Celsius) on June 28 in Motherwell, about 12 miles southeast of Glasgow. However, upon further evaluation, the U.K. Met Office determined the record was invalid due to an artificial heating source near the temperature sensor.

Unfortunately for the Warmists, the temperature reading was a little bit off. Andrew Bolt, of thr Herald Sun in Australia points out:

However, the Met Office posted a blog post on Thursday noting “subsequent information has cast some doubt on the Motherwell measurement for that day, meaning that we will not be able to accept it as an official new record for Scotland.”

So what happened? It turns out exhaust from a nearby vehicle may have heated up the weather station that reported the record-breaking heat….

“Unfortunately in this particular instance we have evidence that a stationary vehicle with its engine running was parked too close to the observing enclosure and the Stevenson screen housing the thermometers during the afternoon of 28th June,” the Met Office explained.

And:

Anthony Watts of Watts Up With That finds that Stevenson screen containing the temperature gauge is actually in a car park, of all things.

And a reader discover the culprit is an ice cream truck:

I discovered that the weather station is split over two sites. The anemometer and wind direction indicators are on the roof. The stevenson screen is in the boat compound. I have attached two google screen shots showing the position of the Stevenson Screen as well as photos. The screen shot shows a large tent? close beside the Stevenson screen, but over the last couple of summers and without doubt in our extraordinary weather recently that position is taken up by an ice cream van which stays there all day with its engine running to keep the freezers working.

Hat tip: John McMahon