Record August temperatures confirmed: summer 2023 was the hottest summer in...

NASA Climate Change 3 years ago

Record August temperatures confirmed: summer 2023 was the hottest summer in NASA’s temperature record, by a large margin. 🥵This summer continues a long-term trend of rising temperatures caused by human activities. All three months of summer 2023 broke records. July 2023 was the hottest month ever in NASA’s GISTEMP record, and the hottest July. June 2023 was the hottest June, and August 2023 was the hottest August. 🌡️ NASA’s GISTEMP temperature record starts in 1880 and uses millions of measurements of surface temperature from weather stations, ships and ocean buoys, and Antarctic research stations. Other agencies and organizations who keep similar global temperature records find the same pattern of long-term warming. Earth is already feeling the effects of climate change, and the events of summer 2023 are a prime example. Wildfires scorched Canada in June, a heat dome settled over the American Southwest in July, and intense storms like Idalia lashed the U.S. in August. Video description: Two stacked data visualizations. Between them, white text reads “Summer 2023 Was the Hottest in NASA’s Record.” On top, a line graph with monthly temperature anomalies from each year from 1880 to 2023 grows across the graph to create a stacked bell shape. The Y-axis is labeled negative 3 degrees Celsius to 3 degrees Celsius and the X-axis has each month from January to December. As time goes on, the curved lines stack higher and higher, and the colors of the lines change from white and blue to dark red. Finally, the 2023 line stops at August, the latest month we have data, and it’s clear that June, July, & August 2023 were all hotter than any previous respective month. On the bottom, a map of the globe with temperature anomalies in Celsius. Anomalies up to 3 degrees higher than average are shown in red. Anomalies up to 3 degrees lower than average are shown in blue. The animation shows August temperature anomalies starting in 1880 through 2023. As the animation plays, various areas are red or blue. By the end, nearly everywhere on Earth is some shade of red except for some places in the Antarctic. #Earth #NASA #Climate #ClimateChange #GlobalWarming #Summer

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 3 hours ago



Momentum in sustainable construction is now driven by tangible progress in materials and methods rather than declarations. The focus on reducing embodied carbon in materials and undertaking robust whole life carbon assessment is reshaping how developers, architects and engineers define sustainable building design. Initiatives such as the Reducing Plastics in Construction Summit reinforce the value of renewable building materials, eco-design for buildings and circular economy in construction frameworks to eliminate petroleum-based polymers and improve resource efficiency in construction.

Biobased composites, recyclable resins and modular approaches are being evaluated through lifecycle assessment tools that can accurately measure the carbon footprint of construction and inform sustainable material specification throughout each project stage. Digitisation is rapidly becoming integral to low carbon design and energy-efficient buildings. Advanced platforms now enable unified modelling of cost, performance and carbon, aligning lifecycle cost optimisation with environmental sustainability in construction.

TM2 Bygg’s software-led method illustrates how low carbon building processes built on data-driven insights help achieve net zero carbon buildings and deliver improved building lifecycle performance. At the policy level, regulators are reinforcing requirements for measurable reductions in embodied carbon and clear evidence of net zero whole life carbon outcomes. These shifts point toward an industry-wide transformation grounded in whole life carbon transparency and the adoption of BREEAM v7 and other sustainable building practices to standardise reporting.

The result is a market that values circular construction strategies, end-of-life reuse in construction and environmental product declarations (EPDs) as verification of a project’s environmental impact of construction. New renewable energy infrastructure, including next‑generation geothermal systems, could redefine the carbon footprint reduction potential of green building materials and low carbon construction materials. As baseload renewables expand, achieving carbon neutral construction and sustainable urban development becomes increasingly viable. The sector is moving beyond pilot projects toward a mature phase of green construction, integrating life cycle thinking in construction and decarbonising the built environment as core business practice.

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