Technologies

NASA Declares Summer 2023 the Hottest on Record

NASA calls out climate change as a culprit for a summer that eclipsed heat records dating back to 1880.

If this summer felt to you like a never-ending sweltering heat wave, then you’re not alone. The summer of 2023 was the hottest on record, NASA said Thursday. Experts with NASA’s
Goddard Institute of Space Studies said the heat was connected to human-caused climate change combined with a natural climate pattern called El Niño.

Global records date back to 1880. NASA data shows the combined months of June, July, and August were 0.41 degrees Fahrenheit (0.23 degrees Celsius) warmer than any summer on record. Compared with the average summer between 1951 and 1980, summer 2023 was 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1.2 Celsius) warmer. NASA considers June through August to be meteorological summer in the Northern Hemisphere.

«Summer 2023’s record-setting temperatures aren’t just a set of numbers — they result in dire real-world consequences,» said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. Nelson called out climate change as «a threat to our planet and future generations.»

NASA specifically cited human-caused greenhouse gas emissions as a driving force behind climate change and the global warming trend that led to such a scorching summer. Most of these greenhouse gas emissions come from China, the US and the countries of the European Union, according to the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. Per capita, greenhouse gas emissions are highest in the US and Russia.

NASA gathers its surface air temperature data from thousands of meteorological stations around the world, including ones that are located at sea. The agency isn’t just looking at the raw heat numbers but instead calculates temperature anomalies, so it’s looking at how temperatures are different from previous averages.

What happened with temperatures out at sea is just as important as what people were experiencing on land. «Exceptionally high sea surface temperatures, fueled in part by the return of El Niño, were largely responsible for the summer’s record warmth,» said NASA JPL climate scientist Josh Willis.

El Niño is a recurring natural weather pattern of higher than normal surface temperatures in parts of the Pacific Ocean. El Niño exacerbated conditions over the summer, setting the stage for record-high heat.

Summer may be history for the Northern Hemisphere in 2023, but concerns remain for the future. More records could fall as the globe continues to warm.

«Unfortunately, climate change is happening. Things that we said would come to pass are coming to pass,» said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt. «And it will get worse if we continue to emit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into our atmosphere.»

Technologies

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Saturday, Feb. 28

Here are the answers for The New York Times Mini Crossword for Feb. 28.

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Need some help with today’s Mini Crossword? As is usual for Saturday, it’s pretty long, and should take you longer than the normal Mini. A bunch of three-initial terms are used in this one. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword

Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.

Mini across clues and answers

1A clue: Rock’s ___ Leppard
Answer: DEF

4A clue: Cry a river
Answer: SOB

7A clue: Clean Air Act org.
Answer: EPA

8A clue: Org. that pays the Bills?
Answer: NFL

9A clue: Nintendo console with motion sensors
Answer: WII

10A clue: ___-quoted (frequently said)
Answer: OFT

11A clue: With 13-Across, narrow gap between the underside of a house and the ground
Answer: CRAWL

13A clue: See 11-Across
Answer: SPACE

14A clue: Young lady
Answer: GAL

15A clue: Ooh and ___
Answer: AAH

17A clue: Sports org. for Scottie Scheffler
Answer: PGA

18A clue: «Hey, just an F.Y.I. …,» informally
Answer: PSA

19A clue: When doubled, nickname for singer Swift
Answer: TAY

20A clue: Socially timid
Answer: SHY

Mini down clues and answers

1D clue: Morning moisture
Answer: DEW

2D clue: «Game of Thrones» or Homer’s «Odyssey»
Answer: EPICSAGA

3D clue: Good sportsmanship
Answer: FAIRPLAY

4D clue: White mountain toppers
Answer: SNOWCAPS

5D clue: Unrestrained, as a dog at a park
Answer: OFFLEASH

6D clue: Sandwich that might be served «triple-decker»
Answer: BLT

12D clue: Common battery type
Answer: AA

14D clue: Chat___
Answer: GPT

16D clue: It’s for horses, in a classic joke punchline
Answer: HAY

Technologies

Ultrahuman Ring Pro Brings Better Battery Life, More Action and Analysis

The company’s new flagship smart ring stores more data, too. But that doesn’t really help Americans.

Sick of your smart ring’s battery not holding up? Ultrahuman’s new $479 Ring Pro smart ring, unveiled on Friday, offers up to 15 days of battery life on a single charge. The Ring Pro joins the company’s $349 Ring Air, which boosts health tracking, thanks to longer battery life, increased data storage, improved speed and accuracy and a new heart-rate sensing architecture. The ring works in conjunction with the latest Pro charging case.

Ultrahuman also launched its Jade AI, which can act as an agent based on analysis of current and historical health data. Jade can synthesize data from across the company’s products and is compatible with its Rings.

«With industry-leading hardware paired with Jade biointelligence AI, users can now take real-time actionable interventions towards their health than ever before,» said Mohit Kumar, CEO of Ultrahuman.

No US sales

That hardware isn’t available in the US, though, thanks to the ongoing ban on Ultrahuman’s Rings sales here, stemming from a patent dispute with its competitor, Oura Ring. It’s available for preorder now everywhere else and is slated to ship in March. Jade’s available globally.

Ultrahuman says the Ring Pro boosts battery life to about 15 days in Chill mode — up to 12 days in Turbo — compared to a maximum of six days for the Air. The Pro charger’s battery stores enough for another 45 days, which you top off with Qi-compatible wireless charging. In addition, the case incorporates locator technology via the app and a speaker, as well as usability features such as haptic notifications and a power LED.

The ring can also retain up to 250 days of data versus less than a week for the cheaper model. Ultrahuman redesigned the heart-rate sensor for better signal quality. An upgraded processor improves the accuracy of the local machine learning and overall speed.

It’s offered in gold, silver, black and titanium finishes, with available sizes ranging from 5 to 14.

Jade’s Deep Research Mode is the cross-ecosystem analysis feature, which aggregates data from Ring and Blood Vision and the company’s subscription services, Home and M1 CGM, to provide historical trends, offer current recommendations and flag potential issues, as well as trigger activities such as A-fib detection. Ultrahuman plans to expand its capabilities to include health-adjacent activities, such as ordering food.

Some new apps are also available for the company’s PowerPlug add-on platform, including capabilities such as tracking GLP-1 effects, snoring and respiratory analysis and migraine management tools.