Climate

Rapid surge in global warming mainly due to reduced planetary albedo

Rapid surge in global warming mainly due to reduced planetary albedo

Researchers find a potential explanation for the unusually sudden temperature rise in 2023: reduced low-level cloud cover limits Earth’s ability to reflect solar radiation. Rising sea levels, melting glaciers, heatwaves at sea – 2023 set a number of alarming new records. The global mean temperature also rose to nearly 1.5 degrees above the preindustrial level,…

Past, Present, and Future Climates in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean, with its extensive climatic history, stands as a unique repository for tracing and estimating climate change, drawing from historical and proxy data spanning vast timeframes >>> Zerefos, C., Xoplaki, E., Kapsomenakis, J., Solomos, S., Poupkou, A., & Gerasopoulos, E. Environmental Sustainability in the Mediterranean Region: Challenges and Solutions, 59-80 (2024) Recent related articles…

Soil Degradation in the Mediterranean Region: Drivers and Future Trends

Soil sustains life and provides ecosystem services relevant for the environment, society, and the economy. However, soil is a finite resource and is vulnerable to degradation that reduces its ability to provide goods and services >>> Ferreira, C. S. S., Keesstra, S., Destouni, G., Solomun, M. K., Kalantari, Z. Environmental Sustainability in the Mediterranean Region:…

Optimizing energy-efficient building renovation: Integrating double-skin façades with solar systems in the Mediterranean landscape

According to the European Environment Agency, 85–95 % of today’s buildings will still be standing in 2050. As a result, there is an urgent need to renovate existing buildings to reduce energy consumption and improve their energy performance >>> Barone, G., Vardopoulos, I., Attia, S., & Vassilliades, C. Energy Reports 12, 2933-2945 (2024) Recent related articles…

A systematic approach for assessing buildings with natural materials in the Mediterranean climate

Natural building materials, including bioaggregates and biocomposites, have been making a comeback in recent years, in an attempt to minimize the Embodied and Operational Energy and Carbon (EE, OE, EC, OC) related to construction. This paper presents monitoring results of three buildings (two residential and one educational) built with such materials in the Mediterranean climate…