The Weather Channel's founder John Coleman's assertion on Fox News this week that climate change was a hoax drew quick response from Weather Channel officials saying climate change was real.

Coleman, 80, aired his views on Fox News Monday. One of a handful of meteorologists denying the science of climate change accepted by 99 percent of scientists, Coleman was with the Weather Channel only one year before leaving. He was a longtime San Diego KUSI-TV weatherman before retiring in April.

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Coleman told Megyn Kelly not only was the polar icecap not melting but "more polar bears are alive and happy today than we've had in 100 years." He went on to continue a theme he has sounded for the past 35 years that "bad, bad science" was behind climate change research.

Weather Channel CEO Devid Kenney sent staff a memo following Coleman's Fox appearance distancing the network from his statements. He said those were Coleman's opinion solely and didn't reflect the Weather Channel's opinion on the matter.

Without mentioning Coleman by name, the Weather Channel issued a statement Wednesday saying climate change was real and human activity was at least partly at fault. The Weather Channel said more than 100 years of detailed climate observations showed the sharp rise of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and global temperature.

Observations, coupled with computer models and climate data reconstruction through various sources, further proved human activities were at the core of the change, the Weather Channel said.

Coleman has created a stir in the past with his climate denial statements. When Al Gore testified before a Senate panel in 2009 about climate change, Coleman mocked him and said climate change was bad science and a hoax.

Coleman makes no secret about his lack of academic training. He wrote in his blog that he was "simply a television meteorologist without a Ph.D.," adding, "I understand that."

Tagsweather, the weather channel, Fox News, denial, john coleman, megyn kelly, global warming