The last 12 months in a row have each set record high temperatures for their...

NASA Climate Change 2 years ago

The last 12 months in a row have each set record high temperatures for their respective month – an unprecedented streak in @nasa’s record. The record months are part of a long-term warming trend driven by human activities, especially greenhouse gas emissions. May 2024 was the warmest May on record, marking a year of record-breaking monthly temperatures. Around the world, average temperatures were 1.14 °C (~2 °F) warmer than the 1951-1980 May average in NASA’s global temperature record, GISTEMP. Our temperature record starts in 1880 and uses data from instruments on ships and buoys and thousands of stations on land. The 12 month streak was affected by El Niño, which usually causes warmer temperatures, among other factors. Earth is moving out of El Niño toward La Niña, which can cause relatively cooler temperatures. Even with La Niña’s influence, 2024 will likely be one of the hottest years on record. This record heat wasn’t just seen on land. Ocean temperatures have also been breaking records. Overall, the ocean is absorbing about 90% of the excess heat in the climate from increased greenhouse gases from human emissions. #Earth #Climate #ClimateChange #Temperature #Data #Science #NASA

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 4 hours ago



A £400m UK government loan to the Tropical Forests Forever Facility tightens the link between embodied carbon and real forest outcomes. Bio‑based and renewable building materials will now be judged on credible, deforestation‑free supply chains as much as on glossy lifecycle assessment or whole life carbon assessment outputs, driving wider use of environmental product declarations (EPDs), green building materials and green building products. Expect stronger traceability, circular construction strategies and end‑of‑life reuse in construction when specifying low embodied carbon materials and low carbon construction materials to cut the carbon footprint of construction and support the circular economy in construction.

Updated damp and mould guidance from the Chartered Institute of Building and the Chartered Institute of Housing reframes indoor environmental quality as a health obligation, pressing social landlords towards whole‑house ventilation, insulation upgrades and continuous monitoring. The shift embeds sustainable building design and energy‑efficient buildings as compliance issues, with implications for life cycle cost, building lifecycle performance and net zero whole life carbon pathways recognised by BREEAM and BREEAM v7.

A new retrofit procurement guide uses public spending to expand capacity, create local jobs and tackle skills shortages by baking training and labour targets into contracts. This gives sustainable construction and decarbonising the built environment delivery teeth, promoting life cycle thinking in construction, resource efficiency in construction and eco‑design for buildings, alongside sustainable material specification and low carbon building upgrades that support carbon neutral construction.

Escalating climate risks—from European wildfires to transboundary smoke and cascading Himalayan floods—are accelerating environmental sustainability in construction and sustainable urban development. Design for resilience is becoming core to net zero carbon buildings and green construction, with fire‑hardening, smoke filtration, heat‑safe interiors and green infrastructure specified to reduce the environmental impact of construction, deliver carbon footprint reduction over whole life carbon and strengthen eco‑friendly construction and sustainable architecture.

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