10 dramatic discoveries about Earth from 2023

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By Tereza Pultarova published about 3 hours ago
Here are some of the most significant events about planet Earth in 2023.



The bright sun over the curve of the edge-on earth, with the thinness of the atmosphere apparent. (Image credit: NASA)


With climate change continuing to affect our planet and mitigating measures lagging, 2023 has been another eventful year for Earth. Broken records, unparalleled weather disasters and some concerning studies have made the headlines this year. Here are some of the most significant stories about planet Earth in 2023.

1. HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD



A world map of global temperatures in July 2023. (Image credit: NASA)

The summer of 2023 was the hottest summer since records began in 1880, NASA announced in September. Global warming, fueled by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, received an extra boost this year from El Niño, a climate pattern that affects the distribution of warm seawater in the Pacific Ocean and thus the precipitation and temperatures all over the world.

Globally, August was 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 degrees Celsius) warmer than average for August, and the period between June and August was 0.41 F (0.23 C) warmer than the average of all previous summers on record, NASA said.

The Northern Hemisphere summer saw extreme fires across Canada, record-breaking temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and relentless heat waves in the southern U.S. and southern Europe. Scientists warn that as climate change progresses, such extreme weather events will become increasingly commonplace.

2. DEVASTATING MAUI WILDFIRE



The once neat town of Lahaina on Hawaii's Maui island has turned into a scorched scene of destruction, as revealed by Earth observation satellites of U.S. company Maxar Technologies. (Image credit: Maxar Technologies)

One of the most shocking wildfires of the 2023 Northern Hemisphere summer was the one that virtually erased the town of Lahaina, a historical settlement on Maui, Hawaii.

The blaze, which erupted on the drought-stricken island in the second week of August, spread at an unprecedented speed, fanned by winds from the passing Hurricane Dora. Nearly 100 people died in the inferno, and thousands of buildings turned to ash, including Lahaina's Old Courthouse and an early-19th-century church.

More:
https://www.space.com/planet-earth-from-space-in-2023?utm_source=notification