Australia's Bureau of Meteorology announced that the equipment at several cold-weather temperature stations was being replaced to make it "fit for purpose."  What the bureau didn't mention is that once the equipment was in place, temperatures from those stations dropped.

Climate Depot:

A record of the Thredbo Top station for 3am on Wednesday shows a temperature reading of -10.6C. This compares with the BoM's monthly highlights for June and July, both showing a low of -9.6C.

The BoM said it had taken immed­iate action to replace the Thredbo station after concerns were raised that very low temperatures were not making it onto the official record. Controversy has dogged the bureau's automatic weather station network since Goulburn man Lance Pigeon saw a -10.4C reading on the BoM's website on July 2 automatically adjust to -10C, then disappear.

Later independent monitoring of the Thredbo Top station by scientist Jennifer Marohasy showed a recording of -10.6C ­vanish from the record.

BoM initially claimed the adjustments were part of its quality control procedures. But bureau chief executive Andrew Johnson later told Environment Minister Josh­ Frydenberg that investigations had found a number of cold-weather stations were not “fit for purpose” and would be replaced.

The BoM has admitted that, in addition to Goulburn and Thredbo Top, stations at Tuggeranong in the ACT, Butlers Gorge and Fingal in Tasmania and Mount Baw Baw in Victoria would be replace­d.

An in-house investigation that includes two independent experts has been called. The bureau said it rejected allegations aired in some media outlets that it had sought to tamper with temperature data.

It has been reported online that electronic smart cards were allegedly fitted to the BoM's automatic weather stations, which put a limit on how low temperatures could be recorded in official weather data. The BoM declined to comment ahead of the internal review.

“The findings of a review into this matter will be made available after completion,” a BoM repre­sentative said. “We do not intend to publish detail prior to that.

“The AWS program is part of the observing systems and operations program, separate from the climate areas.”

On her website yesterday, Dr Marohasy said it was not the recording­ devices that were at fault. “To be clear, the problem is not with the equipment; all that needs to be done is for the smart-card readers to be removed,” Dr Marohasy said. (emphasis mine)

"Smart" card, indeed.  Perhaps a little too smart for its own good.

This is only the most obvious and egregious example of fudging climate change numbers.  But the larger truth exposed is that the global warming hysterics have so cowed the scientific community that rather than report anything that runs counter to the dominant climate change narrative, some scientists will fudge their numbers.

Is the pressure to conform really that intense?  Ask climate change skeptics who have all suffered personal and professional consequences for their adherence to the truth.  I am not excusing the Australian scientists for their cheating.  It takes a breathtaking kind of gall to alter scientific data so.  But the scientists are human, and not all of us are built to withstand the kind of rage and ridicule that would come their way if they reported accurately.

Don't expect the bureau to admit to the cheating.  That sort of thing ruins the reputation of a scientific organization for years.  So they'll sweep the scandal under the rug and whitewash the results of any inquiry.

They are a government agency, after all.