Piers Corbyn

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Piers Richard Corbyn (born 10 March 1947)^[1] is a British meteorologist. He is best known for his controversial claims of an ability to predict the weather up to one year in advance through the study of solar activity, specifically sunspots.

1 Early life
2 Political activism
3 Weather Action
4 Predictions and science
5 References

[edit] Early life

Corbyn was born in Western England on 10 March 1947. On that same day, one of the largest recorded sunspots occurred, which became a template for his later life. He began recording weather and climate patterns at age 15, complete with homemade observation station, and entered the Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine in London at age 18. He would later be published in the Royal Meteorological Society's journal Weather discussing his brine-filled barometer.^[1]

In 1979, following some years of activism, he began studying astrophysics at Queen Mary College, where he began revisiting the theory between the Earth's climate and solar activity. His theories lead him to his first long-term prediction of cold weather in 1986, which eventually caused him to form Weather Action in 1995, his organization that uses his techniques to make the long-range predictions.^[1]

[edit] Political activism

Corbyn was a leader of squatters in the north Paddington area of Westminster City Council in the mid-1970s. In 1974 he fought for a seat on the council as a "Squatters and Tenants" candidate; in 1978 he and a colleague fought as 'Decent Housing' candidates. ^[2] In the 1977 GLC election he was the International Marxist Group candidate for Lambeth Central. ^[3] He later moved to the Aylesbury Estate in Southwark where he became a leader of the Tenants Association; he was a member of the Labour Party and campaigns organiser, but has since left it. His brother, Jeremy Corbyn, has been Labour MP for Islington North since 1983.

[edit] Weather Action

Corbyn has primarily used the knowledge and predictions to bet on the weather in certain markets, and to act as a consultant for many corporations. Mark Bailey, a market manager for Yorkshire Electricity Group, one of Weather Action's clients, estimated Corbyn's forecasts as correct 70% of the time.^[1] Weather Action itself claims that their record demonstrates "proven skill verified by independent academic statisticians and published in scientific literature," and has been verified in Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics.^[4]

Corbyn's success has netted him and his company a series of corporate accounts. Filming crews often look to him for information on weather outlooks to plan filming (PolyGram staggered their release dates and promotional tours for the motion picture Bean around these predictions), and his predictions have valued the company at £6 million at its highest point.^[1]

[edit] Predictions and science

Corbyn's predictions are based on what is called "The Solar Weather Technique."^[5] The technique "combines statistical analysis of over a century of historical weather patterns with clues derived from solar observations."^[1] He considers past weather patterns and current solar observations, drawing correlations between cosmic radiation and cloud cover. This work has been criticized by some scientists who claim that such variations cause minimal impact on the Earth's atmosphere. As Corbyn refuses to publish his methods in any journal, scientists are further critical of his methods due to the low probability of his results.^[1]

Corbyn is also a global warming sceptic. His beliefs stem from the same solar forecasting he uses for his predictions, and he's been quoted as a noted dissenter in reports about the storms in Europe in 2000^[6] and in Martin Durkin's documentary The Great Global Warming Swindle.