A summer marked by deadly heatwaves across Asia, Europe, and North America last year turns out to have been the hottest in the Northern Hemisphere in at least 2,000 years, according to a new study published in the journal Nature.
Technology
Ancient trees show how hot summers have gotten
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25446071/1961182231.jpg?ssl=1 "Ancient trees show how hot summers have gotten")
Officially, 2023 went down in history books as the hottest on record for the planet — but those records only started in 1850. To see how drastically the climate has changed over millennia, the authors of the new paper studied ancient tree rings to gauge fluctuations in temperatures over the years.
The results show us how extreme the weather is becoming. And while temperatures have reached unprecedented peaks, they’re also a warning of what’s to come unless policymakers do more to turn down the heat.
The cross section of a tree can tell us about its life and the world in which it lived
“Personally, I’m not surprised, but I’m worried,” Jan Esper, lead author of the study and a professor of climatology at Johannes Gutenberg University, said in a briefing with reporters. “The longer we wait, the more expensive it will be and the more difficult it will be to mitigate or even stop [global warming].”
For this study, Esper and his colleagues were limited to data they could collect from the Northern Hemisphere outside of tropical regions. Most of the oldest meteorological stations, dating as far back as the mid- to late 1800s, are located in the Northern Hemisphere. And of those, 45 of 58 are in Europe. To look further back in time and across a broader area, they relied on tree rings from the wood archives of archaeologists.
The cross section of a tree can tell us about its life and the world in which it lived. Many trees add a layer of light-colored “earlywood” each spring and a layer of dark “latewood” each summer. Counting up the rings shows the tree’s age. Thicker rings might indicate a warmer year in trees that time their growing seasons with changes in temperature.
This is a treasure trove of data in cooler climates with defined seasons. But unfortunately, again, it’s found mostly in the Northern Hemisphere. There’s a dearth of this data in more arid and tropical regions in the Southern Hemisphere, where there might be fewer trees or trees that don’t share the same growing patterns.
A treasure trove of data in cooler climates with defined seasons
Working with what they had, the researchers found that land temperatures in the summer of 2023 in the Northern Hemisphere were 2.2 degrees Celsius higher than average temperatures between the years 1–1890. On paper, that might look like a small difference. When it comes to life on Earth, that is a significant shift.
It’s a steeper rise in temperature than the goal set out in the landmark Paris agreement, which strives to stop global temperatures from climbing more than 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution.
Two degrees Celsius of global warming would be enough to shift 13 percent of Earth’s ecosystems to a new biome, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Much of the Amazon rainforest is in danger of becoming a savannah, for example. Coral reefs would decline by 99 percent, and nearly 40 percent of the world’s population could experience severe heatwaves at least once every five years.
We saw a deadly taste of that already last year, with record-breaking heatwaves across Europe, North America, and China that would have been “extremely rare or even impossible without human-caused warming,” according to an international collaboration of researchers called World Weather Attribution.
It was a particularly sweltering year in part because of an El Niño climate pattern that dealt a double whammy alongside climate change in 2023. El Niño hasn’t ended yet, so that combo is already expected to make this summer another scorcher. Meeting the goals of the Paris accord would stop climate change in its tracks, however, if countries around the world can transition to clean energy by 2050.
“I am not concerned about myself because I’m too old, but I have two children and there are many other children out there. And for them [global warming is] really dangerous,” Esper said. “So we should do as much as possible as soon as possible.”
Continue Reading
When Oregon resident Isabelle Reksopuro heard Google was gobbling up public land to fuel its data centers in her home state, she didn’t initially know what to believe. “There’s a lot of misinformation about data centers,” she said. “Google has denied taking that land.”
Technically, she explains, The Dalles, a city near the Washington state border, sought to reclaim that land, “and Google is just a big, unnamed power user.” The city had in fact asked for ownership of a 150-acre portion of Mount Hood National Forest, claiming it needs access to Mount Hood’s watershed to meet municipal needs as its population — 16,010 as of the 2020 census — grows. But critics, including environmentalists, say the city is trying to secure more water for Google, which has a sprawling data center campus in The Dalles that already consumes about one-third of the city’s water supply.
This controversy made Reksopuro curious about the backlash to data centers being built in other communities. So Reksopuro, a student at the University of Washington who studies the connections between tech and public policy, decided to map it out. Using information collected by Epoch AI and data scraped from legislation on data centers, she built an interactive map tracking AI policy around the world. She designed it to be simple enough for anyone to use. “I wanted it to be something that my younger sisters could play through and explore to understand what are the data centers in the area and what’s actually being done about it,” Reksopuro said. She hoped to shift their opinions that way, “instead of like, through TikTok.”
Four times a day, the map searches for new sources and checks them against the existing database Reksopuro built out. “Once it does that, it will write a new summary, add it to the news feed, and populate it on the sidebar,” she said. “I wanted it to be self-updating, since I’m also a student.”
Reksopuro isn’t against data centers, but she thinks tech giants benefit from a lack of transparency around data center policies. “Right now, it’s this really opaque thing — and all of a sudden, there’s a facility,” she said. “I think that if people knew about data centers beforehand, it would give them leverage. They would be able to negotiate: ask for job training programs, tax revenue, environmental monitoring, things to improve their community.”
UCF commencement speaker Gloria Caulfield (University of Central Florida via Storyful)
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Welcome to Fox News’ Artificial Intelligence newsletter with the latest AI technology advancements.
IN TODAY’S NEWSLETTER:
– UCF graduates clobber commencement speaker with boos after she says AI is the ‘next Industrial Revolution’
– OPINION: DIRECTOR KASH PATEL: We brought the FBI out of the past and into the AI age
– OpenAI backs creation of global AI governance body led by the U.S. that would include China as a member
TOUGH CROWD: During a recent commencement ceremony at the University of Central Florida, a speaker was met with loud boos from the graduating class after declaring that artificial intelligence represents the next industrial revolution. Fox News Digital reporting captures this tense cultural moment, illustrating the mixed public sentiment and skepticism surrounding AI’s growing footprint in daily life.
A statue on the campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. (iStock)
BADGE MEETS BYTE: Reflecting on the modernization of national security in a Fox News op-ed, FBI Director Kash Patel explores how the bureau must adapt its strategies to address modern threats and advance beyond the artificial intelligence age.
TECH DIPLOMACY: OpenAI is throwing its support behind the establishment of a new global artificial intelligence governance organization that would be led by the United States while notably including China as a member. Fox News Digital reporting examines the geopolitical dynamics and regulatory implications of this proposed framework as global powers race to set the standards for AI development.
EQUITY ELEVATION: The massive wave of wealth generated by the explosive growth of ChatGPT and the broader AI industry is driving a sudden surge in the San Francisco Bay Area’s luxury real estate market. Fox News Digital reporting breaks down how the influx of new tech capital is reshaping local housing dynamics and fueling a high-end property frenzy.
FBI Director Kash Patel listened as Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke during a press conference at the Department of Justice on April 28, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
STRATEGY RESET: Tech giant Cisco is planning to eliminate thousands of jobs as the company shifts its primary focus to accelerate its artificial intelligence initiatives, a move that comes despite the company beating earnings expectations. Fox News Digital reporting details the corporate restructuring and broader economic trends pushing legacy tech firms to aggressively pivot toward AI.
ROAD HAZARD: Waymo is issuing a sweeping recall of its autonomous vehicle fleet following a concerning incident that highlighted significant safety issues with the self-driving technology. Fox News Digital reporting outlines the specifics of the recall, the nature of the safety flaw, and what this setback means for the future of fully autonomous transportation on public roads.
BOTS IN THE BAY: A newly developed, artificial intelligence-powered robot has been engineered to seamlessly change and balance vehicle tires without human intervention. Fox News Digital reporting showcases this latest innovation, exploring how automation and AI mechanics could soon revolutionize the automotive service and repair industry.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the 2026 Infrastructure Summit in Washington, D.C., on March 11, 2026. (Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
FOLLOW FOX NEWS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
YouTube
SIGN UP FOR OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS
Fox News First
Fox News Opinion
Fox News Lifestyle
Fox News Health
DOWNLOAD OUR APPS
Fox News
FOX Business
Fox Weather
Fox Sports
Tubi
WATCH FOX NEWS ONLINE
Fox News Go
STREAM FOX NATION
Fox Nation
Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future with Fox News here.
Microsoft Edge is adding a new feature that will allow its Copilot AI chatbot to gather information from all of your open tabs. When you start a conversation with Copilot, you can ask the chatbot questions about what’s in your tabs, compare the products you’re looking at, summarize your open articles, and more.
In its announcement, Microsoft says you can “select which experiences you want or leave off the ones you don’t.” The company is retiring Copilot Mode as well, which could similarly draw information from your tabs but offered some agentic features, like the ability to book a reservation on your behalf. Microsoft has since folded these agentic capabilities into its “Browse with Copilot” tool.
Several other AI features are coming to Edge, including an AI-powered “Study and Learn” mode that can turn the article you’re looking at into a study session or interactive quiz. There’s a new tool that turns your tabs into AI-powered podcasts as well, similar to what you’d find on NotebookLM, and an AI writing assistant that will pop up when you start entering text on a webpage.
You can also give Copilot permission to access your browsing history to provide more “relevant, high-quality answers,” according to Microsoft. Copilot in Edge on desktop and mobile will come with “long-term memory” as well, which can tailor its responses based on your previous conversations. And, when you open up a new tab, you’ll see a redesigned page that combines chat, search, and web navigation, along with the Journeys feature, which uses AI to organize your browsing history into categories that you can revisit.
Meanwhile, an update to Edge’s mobile app will allow you to share your screen with Copilot and talk through the questions about what you’re seeing. Microsoft says you’ll see “clear visual cues” when Copilot is active, “so you know when it’s taking an action, helping, listening, or viewing.”
-
Cleveland, OH5 minutes agoNavy warship to be commissioned in Ohio for first time in 250 years
-
Austin, TX11 minutes agoNo. 3 Softball preview: NCAA Austin Regional – University of Texas Athletics
-
Alabama17 minutes agoAlabama’s Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort recognized as one of the best | WKRG.com
-
Alaska23 minutes ago
Governor Dunleavy Names Stephen Cox his new Counsel to the Governor – Mike Dunleavy
-
Arizona29 minutes agoHow to buy Arizona Cardinals tickets, 2026 NFL schedule release
-
Arkansas35 minutes agoBerlin Wall Segments Arrive in Arkansas for National Cold War Center
-
California41 minutes agoLive Updates: Candidates face off in the CBS News California and San Francisco Examiner Governor’s Debate
-
Colorado47 minutes agoFinal minute, full 2OT from Northwestern-Colorado lacrosse quarterfinal marathon