Bloomberg TikTok Chart Debunks Climate Myths — 78% Of Land Hit Record Heat In The 21st Century

A short Bloomberg Opinion clip on TikTok is cutting through climate misinformation with a simple, data-driven chart and authoritative figures. The video uses NASA data and clear visualizations to show how rapidly the planet is warming and to rebut common claims that global temperatures have cooled or that past decades were uniformly hotter.

What The Data Shows

The clip highlights that 78% of the world's land has recorded a temperature record in the 21st century, and 38% of land set new heat records in the 2020s alone. Using NASA estimates, the video notes the global average surface temperature is about 2.3°F above preindustrial levels — putting humanity perilously close to the 1.5°C (about 2.7°F) threshold in the Paris Agreement.

Debunking The 1930s 'It Was Hotter Then' Claim

The TikTok directly rebuts the claim that the world has cooled since the 1930s. It explains that the 1930s heat was largely a regional phenomenon in the United States — driven in part by Dust Bowl-era farming practices and unusual weather patterns — rather than a global trend. As the video states plainly, the Earth has 'heated up steadily for the past 50 years,' which contradicts the notion that global temperatures have fallen since the 1930s.

Why Clear Communication Matters

Disinformation about climate change has deep roots. A Georgetown report documents that oil-industry scientists understood the climate risks from burning fossil fuels as early as the 1950s. An internal Exxon memo from 1988 advised the company to 'emphasize the uncertainty in scientific conclusions' — a tactic later used to delay policy action and sow doubt.

'Emphasize the uncertainty in scientific conclusions' — excerpt from a 1988 Exxon internal memo cited in public reports.

That history shows why straightforward, fact-based content is essential. Communicators and researchers, including Ph.D. student Roshan Salgado D'Arcy, are actively calling out misleading graphs and explaining how visual tricks and selective data can confuse the public.

Scientists Working On Solutions

At the same time, researchers are developing practical responses: teams in Mexico are using gene-editing techniques to create crops better able to survive drought, and other groups have reported progress toward producing clean hydrogen fuel from seawater. These efforts illustrate that mitigation and adaptation work continues alongside efforts to stop harmful misinformation.

Viewers responded strongly to the Bloomberg clip. One commenter wrote: 'It's the rate of increase — the world has never warmed this quickly before; nature cannot cope with this rate of change.' Another added: 'I've seen similar charts before and immediately knew something was off with what was being claimed.'

The article included a reader poll asking whether we should attempt to remove pollution from the atmosphere, with options ranging from 'Absolutely' to 'No way.' For readers who want to learn more, authoritative resources from NASA, academic institutions, and reputable NGOs provide accessible explanations and further data.