From extraordinary heat to stunning space imagery, New Scientist has brought you extensive coverage of the biggest developments, discoveries and events in science, technology, health and environment in 2023. Here is our recap of some of the best stories this year. The number of heat records broken in 2023 is simply astounding. While we can't officially say for sure until final figures are in next month, this year was almost certainly the hottest year ever recorded. In a sign of how extraordinary temperatures have been this year, New Scientist was already reporting this possibility in mid-June, well before the northern hemisphere summer had got into gear.

A fleet of rockets, new hope for the Amazon and an attempt to transform our diets are just some of the exciting stories that the New Scientist news team will be covering in 2023. Read on for our picks of the biggest science, technology, health and environment news you can expect to see in the coming year. SpaceX's Starship, the largest rocket ever built, is set to make its first orbital flight in 2023. It is just one of a fleet of huge rockets due to launch in the next 12 months, along with Blue Origin's New Glenn. Both firms are owned by billionaires – Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, respectively – who hope to shape the future of space travel.

War in Europe, a momentous volcanic eruption and a surprise finding that could rewrite our understanding of reality – 2022 really has been a busy year for science, technology, health and environment news, and all that happened in just the first few months. From stunning space imagery to pig heart transplants, here are the New Scientist news editors' picks of the biggest scientific developments, discoveries and events of the year. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February has sparked devastation across the country and affected many areas of life around the world, as both nations play a key role in the global supply chains for energy, food and more. It has also raised the spectre of nuclear weapons, with Russian president Vladimir Putin making not-so veiled threats about deploying his atomic arsenal. Thankfully, Armageddon has been avoided, but Russia's offensive has sparked discussion of a new kind of nuclear war, as Ukraine's nuclear power plants became a battleground this year.