2023 was the hottest year in @NASA’s record, continuing a human-caused, long...

NASA Climate Change 2 years ago

2023 was the hottest year in @NASA’s record, continuing a human-caused, long term warming trend. 2023 was a record-breaking year in many ways. We also experienced the hottest summer and fall on record, and Sept. 2023’s global temperature anomaly – deviation from the 1951-1980 baseline – was the largest on record. Each year in the last decade was in the top 10 warmest years. The record-breaking heat was due to high greenhouse gas emissions (like carbon dioxide), the transition to El Niño conditions, and other factors that scientists are still researching. Generally, La Niña brings cooler temperatures and El Niño brings warmer temperatures. High greenhouse gas emissions from human activities and the transition out of three La Niña years were largely responsible for 2023 setting a new record. Last year, NASA and our partners launched the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Center to share climate data for these heat-trapping gases. Our record, called GISTEMP, is calculated from millions of measurements from thousands of weather stations on land, ships and ocean buoys, and Antarctic research stations. It uses data starting in 1880, when coverage makes it possible to reliably estimate global temperature. Despite 2023 being the globally hottest year, individual locations may not have experienced a record warm year. However, the effects of our changing climate are felt globally, with record droughts, shifting fire seasons, and sudden, intense precipitation events. At NASA, our unique vantage point from space is crucial to monitoring the causes and impacts of climate change – both those we’re experiencing now, and what we can expect to see in the future. We’re designing, building, and launching missions to study Earth in new ways and provide data for models that project how Earth systems will respond to rising carbon. By working with our partners at @NOAA and other federal agencies, and making our data available to local decision-makers and people on the ground, NASA is helping the world prepare for life on a warming planet. #Earth #NASA #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Science

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 9 hours ago



Progress towards sustainable construction is uneven yet gathering momentum. The UK government has launched Great British Energy, aimed at publicly owned clean energy generation. While not construction-specific, its success by 2030 could transform the carbon footprint of construction by providing a cleaner grid. A stable low-carbon energy supply underpins sustainable building design and supports net zero whole life carbon ambitions across the built environment.

In the United States, financial close on Massachusetts’ largest battery energy storage project promises better grid stability for low carbon design. Enhanced storage capacity creates more reliable access to renewable electricity, improving whole life carbon assessment outcomes for housing and commercial development. This shift towards energy-efficient buildings demonstrates how infrastructure investment feeds directly into sustainable architecture and sustainable building practices worldwide.

Macquarie’s US$350 million investment in solar and storage via Nexamp reinforces the integration of renewable building materials and decentralised clean energy into urban development. Sourcing electricity from localised systems allows eco-design for buildings to achieve measurable carbon footprint reduction. For large-scale projects, life cycle cost thinking in construction is increasingly impossible without accounting for such infrastructure, linked directly to lifecycle assessment and future BREEAM v7 updates.

Hydrostor has attracted major funding for compressed air energy storage, providing long-duration capacity essential for decarbonising the built environment. This kind of resilience directly supports sustainable construction by ensuring clean energy availability through both build and operational phases. It also complements whole life carbon strategies, reducing reliance on fossil fuels while supporting environmental sustainability in construction and measurable building lifecycle performance.

On resilience, Flood Risk America has developed an automatic flood gate that eliminates the need for manual intervention. This technology represents circular construction strategies in disaster adaptation, ensuring eco-friendly construction can withstand climate extremes. As urban areas pursue sustainable urban development, such measures demonstrate how resource efficiency in construction can align with climate resilience.

Warnings from the Environmental Services Association highlight the hidden risks in electrification. Battery disposal fires, costing billions annually, underline the environmental impact of construction supply chains beyond embodied carbon in materials and end-of-life reuse in construction. Safe disposal and sustainable material specification are critical to maintaining environmental product declarations (EPDs) credibility, reinforcing the broader shift toward circular economy in construction.

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Whole Life Carbon is a platform for the entire construction industry—both in the UK and internationally. We track the latest publications, debates, and events related to whole life guidance and sustainability. If you have any enquiries or opinions to share, please do get in touch.