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 8 hours ago



Sustainable construction is moving from ESG aspiration to financial discipline. More than 830 companies and investors now back TNFD nature-risk disclosure, including investors with $26tr under management and listed firms worth $10.5tr. For developers, designers and material suppliers, environmental sustainability in construction is becoming inseparable from balance-sheet risk, whole life carbon, embodied carbon and credible whole life carbon assessment.

Climate exposure is also redefining sustainable building design. Insurers are reported to be retreating from some climate-risk cover, making life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and resilience central to investment decisions. Satellite evidence of uneven urban subsidence, including coastal Jakarta sinking by up to 7cm a year in some areas, underlines the need for sustainable design, low carbon design, robust foundations, drainage and green infrastructure from the earliest project stages. Southern England’s severe water stress and tougher regulatory checks on corporate water use reinforce the commercial case for energy-efficient buildings, water-conscious eco-design for buildings and sustainable urban development.

Materials transparency is becoming a decisive test for green construction. Think Timber’s new pricing and supply-chain data platform points to the practical data needed to scale renewable building materials, green building materials and low carbon construction materials beyond flagship schemes. Stronger visibility over timber supply, sustainable material specification and embodied carbon in materials supports lifecycle assessment, environmental product declarations (EPDs), resource efficiency in construction and more reliable procurement for net zero carbon buildings.

The defence of the EU emissions trading system by energy and business groups signals intensifying pressure on cement, steel and other carbon-heavy inputs. The carbon footprint of construction will be priced more directly, accelerating demand for low embodied carbon materials, carbon footprint reduction, carbon neutral construction and decarbonising the built environment. Firms pursuing net zero whole life carbon will need circular economy thinking, circular economy in construction, circular construction strategies and end-of-life reuse in construction rather than isolated product substitutions.

UK construction output fell 1% in the second quarter, sharpening the commercial test for sustainable building practices. The strongest firms will make low-impact construction, eco-friendly construction and net zero carbon delivery repeatable rather than bespoke. BREEAM, BREEAM v7 and similar frameworks will matter most where they support life cycle thinking in construction, measurable building performance and lower environmental impact of construction. Green building is no longer a marketing claim; it is risk management, insurability and long-term asset protection.

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