Where is the enquiry into the BOM? I must have missed the answer.
Still can't find any information that confirms the BOM tampered with data about the cyclones either.
Improving Australia’s climate record
Australian Climate Observations Reference Network – Surface Air Temperature (ACORN-SAT)
The Bureau of Meteorology has released an updated and improved Australian temperature dataset. Known as the Australian Climate Observations Reference Network – Surface Air Temperature (ACORN-SAT) the new dataset has been developed specifically to monitor climate variability and change in Australia.
The ACORN-SAT dataset employs the latest analysis techniques and takes advantage of newly digitised observational data to provide a daily record of Australian temperatures over the last 100 years. It is the world’s first continent-wide daily temperature record of its kind.
This dataset will enable climate researchers to better understand long-term changes in monthly and seasonal climate, as well as changes in day-to-day weather—such as the frequency of heat and cold extremes. The dataset is available from the Bureau’s website www.bom.gov.au/climate/change/acorn-sat
A short history of Australian observational records
The history of instrumental weather observations in Australia stretches back to European settlement. Within months of the arrival of the First Fleet, Australia’s first ‘meteorologist’, Lieutenant William Dawes, set up an astronomical observatory and commenced recording weather observations. Over the next century, amateur and official meteorologists continued taking observations in settlements dotted around the continent, providing documentary evidence of climate variability in Australia.
Unfortunately for modern-day scientists, there was no common standard for observing equipment during the colonial period. Any number of instrument configurations were used, including—perhaps iconically—thermometers housed in beer crates on outback verandas. By 1910, however, the newly formed Australian Bureau of Meteorology had established standardised equipment in many parts of the country. Over the past century, the Bureau has expanded, developed and advanced its network of observing sites.
In 2011, the Bureau had 774 temperature recording sites and nearly 6000 rain gauges operating across Australia.
Creating the modern record
Creating a modern Australian temperature record from the high volumes of data collected takes a lot of work.
Some of the work requires digitising records from last century—manual data entry from paper-based records to electronic databases. Other tasks require a great deal of scientific knowledge, such as understanding the impact of technology changes on the consistency of the data over time. Climate records, like this one from September 1887, are archived by the Bureau of Meteorology
