---
title: "In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists or authorities claimed that global cooling would kill the world."
claim_id: "WxWQclkhErrs3GK9Bcul"
validity: 5
model: accounts/fireworks/models/kimi-k2p6
---

# Claim: In the 1920s and 1930s, scientists or authorities claimed that global cooling would kill the world.

Verdict: 5%
Model: Kimi K2.6
Checked on: 01/07/2026

## Verdict explanation

**Reasoning:**

- The 1920s and 1930s were actually a period of documented **warming**, not cooling. Scientific and historical records show a "pronounced warming trend" during this era, particularly in the Arctic[^1][^2].
- Media coverage from the late 19th century through approximately the 1920s focused on potential ice ages, but by the late 1920s and 1930s, media outlets shifted to reporting on **warming trends** instead[^3][^4].
- The well-documented "global cooling" scare involving scientists and media predictions of a coming ice age occurred primarily in the **1970s**, not the 1920s-1930s[^5][^6].
- In 1933, the New York Times published an article titled "America in Longest Warm Spell Since 1776; Temperature Line Records a 25-year Rise," which directly contradicts the claim of a 1920s-1930s cooling panic[^4].
- The "global cooling" narrative that is sometimes cited by climate skeptics today is most commonly associated with a small minority of scientific papers and widespread media coverage in the 1970s, not the earlier decades[^5][^7].

**Conclusion:** The claim is historically inaccurate. The 1920s and 1930s were marked by warming observations and concerns, not global cooling fears. The documented global cooling scare occurred decades later.

**Overall validity**: 5%

[^1]:
    [The early 20th century warming: Anomalies, causes, and ... - PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6033150)

[^2]:
    [The Modern Temperature Trend](https://history.aip.org/climate/20ctrend.htm)

[^3]:
    [Media and climate change | Communication and Mass Media | Research Starters | EBSCO Research](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/communication-and-mass-media/media-and-climate-change)

[^4]:
    [Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 14](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRECB-2006-pt14/html/CRECB-2006-pt14-Pg19154.htm)

[^5]:
    [\[PDF\] THE MYTH OF THE 1970s GLOBAL COOLING SCIENTIFIC ...](https://cnslibrary.com/wp-content/uploads/Myth-of-1970s-global-cooling-scientific-consensus.pdf)

[^6]:
    [Global cooling - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_cooling)

[^7]:
    [Media Influences: Ice Age Predictions | Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/environment/energy-government-and-defense-magazines/media-influences-ice-age-predictions)

## Sources using this claim (1)

- [Donald Trump calls climate change 'the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.' #DonaldTrump…](/source/tiktok:gbnews:7553303384539860246) — 20% — 51 views