The great tragedy of the settled climate science era, now facing increased scrutiny, is the draining of public confidence in once revered scientific institutions. Covid was hardly a high point in medical science, while climate fear mongering is in danger of becoming a social joke. ‘Boiling’ oceans and constant risible records are mixed with obvious pseudoscience such as human ‘attribution’ claims. The blast from Hunga Tonga may well help in blowing away much of this fake news for good.