heat

Last 9 Years Are Now Among 10 Hottest Ever Recorded

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The nine years spanning 2013-2021 all rank among the 10 hottest on record, according to an annual report a US agency released Thursday, the latest data underscoring the global climate crisis.   For 2021, the average temperature across global surfaces was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84 degrees Celsius) above the 20th-century average, making the year the … Read more

California Presents Plan to Prevent Extreme Heat Deaths

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Extreme heat threatens to effect all of California in coming years, prompting state officials to outline life-saving measures in an adaptation report released this week. Average annual temperatures have already jumped in California by more than 1 degree Fahrenheit, and it has exceeded 2 F in some areas, according to the analysis by the California … Read more

Oceans Break Heat Record for Third Year in a Row

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The world’s oceans reached their hottest levels on record in 2021. It’s the third year in a row it’s happened, and it’s driven almost entirely by human-caused climate change, scientists announced yesterday. The findings are presented in a paper published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences. As excess heat accumulates in the atmosphere, caused by continued greenhouse … Read more

Ocean Temperatures Just Smashed a New Record For The Sixth Year in a Row

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Ocean temperatures the world over are building at a relentless rate as humans continue to alter the atmosphere around them. In 2021, according to a new summary of two international datasets, the wave of warmth in our oceans hit a new peak, eclipsing the influence of cooler regional episodes.   While last year’s ocean warming … Read more

Gorgeous HD Footage Shows Humanity’s Final View of The James Webb Space Telescope

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We can all breathe a bit easier now. In spite of a launch bedeviled by problem after problem, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope is finally in space, making its way to its new home.   And if you needed a little reassurance that this is the case (which is totally understandable), the European Space Agency … Read more

There Was a Major Unexpected Benefit to James Webb’s Christmas Launch

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After a detailed analysis of where the James Webb Space Telescope is now (29 December 2021) and how it got there, NASA determined the observatory should have enough propellant to operate in space for significantly more than 10 years in space.   Webb’s mission lifetime was designed to be at least 5-1/2 years, and mission … Read more

Energy efficiency: Smart windows keep heat in during winter and let heat out in summer

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Radiative cooling means ordinary windows are not very effective at keeping buildings warm or cool as required, but modified windows could help save energy Technology 16 December 2021 By Chen Ly Windows in a house covered by snow Botastock images/Alamy A smart window that automatically keeps heat in during the winter and lets it out … Read more

Our earliest, ‘half-alive’ ancestor needed little boost from heat | Science

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How Earth changed from a lifeless ball of rock, water, and gases to a blue planet teeming with organisms is one of science’s greatest puzzles. Life had to assemble out of chemical building blocks about 4 billion years ago. Some scientists have invoked spectacular sources of energy for life’s spark, such as a comet impact … Read more

Scorching Siberian Heatwave Confirmed as Hottest Arctic Temperature Ever Recorded

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The UN on Tuesday officially recognized the 38 degrees Celsius measured in Siberia last year as a new record high for the Arctic, sounding “alarm bells” over climate change. The sweltering heat – equivalent to 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit– was seen on June 20, 2020 in the Russian town of Verkhoyansk, marking the highest temperature ever … Read more