There isn't much green in the Sahara Desert, but after an unusual influx of rain, the color can be seen from space creeping into parts of one of the driest places in the world.
Satellites recently captured plant life blooming in parts of the typically arid southern Sahara after storms moved there when they shouldn't. It has also caused catastrophic flooding. And scientists say a world warming due to fossil fuel pollution is making both more likely.
Rainfall north of the equator in Africa typically increases from July through September as the West African Monsoon kicks into gear. But since at least mid-July, this zone has shifted farther north than it typically should, sending storms into the southern Sahara, including portions of Niger, Chad, Sudan and even as far north as Libya, according to data from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
As a result, these portions of the Sahara Desert are anywhere from twice as wet to more than six times wetter than they should be.
Read more at the link in our bio.
📷: CIRA/RAMMB
A tightening regulatory and technical landscape is redefining sustainable construction across the UK and beyond. The Building Safety Act is reshaping project governance by requiring transparent reporting and accountability that link safety with environmental sustainability in construction. Compliance processes are driving a shift toward whole life carbon assessment, embedding sustainable building design principles at the earliest design stage and quantifying both operational and embodied carbon.
Digital systems such as the government’s waste‑tracking initiative are enabling circular economy in construction practices, mandating traceable material flows and revealing the carbon footprint of construction through verified lifecycle assessment. These data‑driven mechanisms enhance resource efficiency in construction and reinforce the wider transition to low embodied carbon materials and eco‑friendly construction.
Investment is converging on decarbonisation at scale. A new £120 million waste‑to‑hydrogen facility is designed to transform residual waste into clean fuel, supporting low carbon design and resilient net zero carbon buildings. Growth in grid‑balancing storage improves the stability of renewable‑powered operations, a prerequisite for energy‑efficient buildings and low carbon building performance across portfolios.
Governance frameworks are also advancing. The creation of a dedicated leadership structure for the Greenhouse Gas Protocol elevates global consistency in measuring whole life carbon and encourages transparent benchmarking using environmental product declarations (EPDs). This maturity strengthens sustainable building practices, fosters green construction aligned with BREEAM v7 standards, and supports decarbonising the built environment through life cycle cost and performance management.
The cumulative effect signals a transition to net zero whole life carbon imperatives governed by robust data, certified materials, and measurable outcomes. The progress may appear administrative, yet it represents the essential infrastructure of sustainable material specification, circular construction strategies, and long‑term green infrastructure supporting a truly carbon neutral construction sector.
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