A string of weather events has soaked southern Brazil since June 2023. This...

NASA Climate Change 2 years ago

A string of weather events has soaked southern Brazil since June 2023. This image pair, taken by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on #Landsat 8, highlights the recent flooding of agricultural fields along the Jacuí River near the town Agudo in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Conversely, northern parts of the country have been experiencing droughts and wildfires. According to Brazil’s National Institute of Meteorology, the increase in rainfall events in the south and dry weather in the north are mainly caused by El Niño. P.S. El Niño is when ocean temperatures along the equatorial Pacific are warmer than normal and the winds that travel from east to west (trade winds) are weaker. This causes changes in global weather patterns. Video Description: Two images flip back and forth to show the land before and after flooding occurred. In the before image, there are patches of green and brown. A wavy pattern of lighter brown patches starts at the top left and travels down to the middle of the image at the bottom. This is the land around the Jacuí River. The after image is the same as the before, except now that wavy pattern is a deeper, single colored brown as the land has flooded. #NASA #Climate #ElNino #EarthScience #EarthData #ClimateChange

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 6 hours ago



Europe’s clean energy transition is reshaping the framework for sustainable construction, yet the disconnect between capital investment and project delivery threatens progress toward net zero carbon buildings. Investment in renewables and low carbon design remains strong, but grid constraints and data centre energy demands underscore the need for robust whole life carbon assessment in every stage of sustainable building design. Developers are being urged to integrate embodied carbon analysis and lifecycle assessment into early project planning to ensure energy-efficient buildings meet tightening environmental standards.

The 1.5GW floating wind project in the Celtic Sea and carbon capture commissioning at the energy‑from‑waste facility in Cheshire represent key steps in decarbonising the built environment, anchoring a shift toward green construction and eco‑friendly infrastructure aligned with the circular economy in construction. Government backing for cleaner shipping supply chains further underlines the urgency of reducing the carbon footprint of construction and supporting resource efficiency across the sector.

Policy uncertainty in the UK continues to distort risk and investment signals. With limited climate measures in the Spring Statement, property leaders warn that regulatory ambiguity could render much of the existing stock unlettable under new EPC standards. To safeguard long‑term asset value, projects must adopt sustainable building practices, low embodied carbon materials and environmental product declarations (EPDs) to verify performance and reduce lifecycle impacts.

The drive for environmental sustainability in construction demands a shift from compliance to measurable performance. Whole life carbon metrics, life cycle cost analysis and sustainable material specification now define best practice across green building materials and eco‑design for buildings. Contractors and developers equipped with circular construction strategies and end‑of‑life reuse models will be best positioned to deliver net zero whole life carbon outcomes and achieve BREEAM and BREEAM v7 ratings. Sustained delivery of credible data, design transparency and carbon neutral construction pathways will determine leadership in the next generation of sustainable urban development.

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