--- title: Bill Nye: Predicted 2016 Would Be One of the Hottest Summers description: Bill Nye the Science Guy challenged meterologist Joe Bastardi to a $20,000 bet that 2016 would be one of the hottest summers ever. canonical: https://time.com/4458284/bill-nye-climate-change-bet/ author: Cady Lang article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-18T22:06:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:35:40.902Z og:title: Bill Nye Predicted Summer 2016 Would Be Crazy Hot og:description: This science guy, right? og:url: https://time.com/4458284/bill-nye-climate-change-bet/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt719a8f755bc3a573/6988a2e5656a3f90e7bccca0/bill-nye-climate-change-bet.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Reason Rally 2016 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bill Nye Predicted Summer 2016 Would Be Crazy Hot twitter:description: This science guy, right? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt719a8f755bc3a573/6988a2e5656a3f90e7bccca0/bill-nye-climate-change-bet.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Bill Nye Bet $20,000 That 2016 Would Be One Of the Hottest Years Ever  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 18, 2016 10:06 PM UTC  Bill Nye the Science Guy speaks at the Reason Rally 2016 at Lincoln Memorial on June 4, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images) Bill Nye the Science Guy speaks at the Reason Rally 2016 at Lincoln Memorial on June 4, 2016 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Riccardo S. Savi/Getty Images)Riccardo S. Savi—Getty Images  by [Cady Lang](https://time.com/author/cady-lang/)  ## Cady Lang Aug 18, 2016 10:06 PM UTC [Bill Nye the Science Guy](http://time.com/3991251/bill-nye-science-guy-arnold-schwarzenegger-blowing-stuff-up/) doesn’t just say that [man-made climate change](http://content.time.com/time/interactive/0,31813,1620995,00.html) is an issue for the environment — he’s willing to put his money where his mouth is. After meteorologist and bodybuilder Joe Bastardi ([who also faced off with Nye on Fox News’ _The O’Reilly Factor_ in 2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgZU5uvM5Ok)) challenged Nye in a 2015 op-ed for [_The Patriot Post_](https://patriotpost.us/opinion/38793), citing that Nye’s opinions on global warming should not be taking seriously since “he is not a man of science. _He is an actor,”_ Nye made a video that not only included facts, but offered to make a $10,000 bet with the meteorologist that 2016 would be one of the hottest years on record, and another bet for the same amount that the current decade would also be one of the hottest ones on record. Nye ended the video by urging Bastardi to take the climate change bet. Read more about this summer’s record temperature highs [here](http://time.com/4411768/heat-dome-heat-wave-summer-weather/). Watch the full video below. 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