Heatwaves and infrastructure

"Rising sea levels", "heat waves", "extinction of species" are some of the topics that are most often discussed when deciding to deal with climate change. Although crucial, these topics are often pushed to the forefront despite other issues of paramount importance. Being witnesses to today's climate and research, many are starting to realise the extent of the problem without really understanding the links between the issues. When talking about heatwaves, most people are, as they should be, worried about droughts and dehydration. However, increasing temperatures could mean even more than that; it could mean the impossibility of using infrastructure that is key to our everyday life. Infrastructure will be understood using their definition in the Cambridge dictionary, "the basic physical and organisational structures and facilities needed for the operation of a society. "This article will only scratch the surface of the disruption that would go with the rise of temperatures but will attempt to give a good basis of the impact of heatwaves on our infrastructure. To take an example of a rich nation with a huge infrastructure system and a relatively mild climate yet impacted by climate change, this article will focus primarily on the United States, with an abundant source of relevant literature.

To lower climate change's impact on our lives, we urgently need to integrate the threat of extreme weather in the construction of our infrastructure to make them more resilient. Deliberately leaving it out of our consideration will only further our vulnerability to climate change.

Heatwaves used to be a rare event, especially in countries that historically have a forgiving climate. However, according to the 2021 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), heat waves that use to happen twice in a century are now a relatively frequent event happening once every decade. And that is if we manage to stay at a 1.5℃ of warming. In the case of high emissions, the world could become 4℃ hotter, and the same heat waves would happen once every 2 years. As well as being more frequent, they are more extreme. For instance, the heat waves in the US are now, on average 3℃ to 5℃ hotter than they use to be. Today, scientists are confident that the earth will inevitably be warmer. As a result, we need to limit that warming and learn how to live and survive in such a climate.

Our infrastructure is key to our everyday life. In most rich countries, we depend on electricity, roads or railways, and their existence is taken for granted. But very rarely is infrastructure built to resist future temperatures. For instance, a few years ago, Portland started renovating its mass transit system to withstand hotter temperatures. In 2021, the city experienced a temperature of 44 degrees, something they never prepared for. The unpreceded temperatures forced Portland's Streetcar to shut down its service for 2 days due to power problems. As the agency's spokesperson said, "Things we were worried about happening seem to be happening now." The impending danger is also hanging over the electricity sector. In the European Union (EU), 43% of the water is used cooling water by the electricity agencies. In the face of a warming climate and increased droughts, those agencies will not be able to meet the demands of the population. In 2009, France, one of the EU's biggest electricity producers, faced a heatwave that coerced it to slow down on its nuclear power production as there face a cooling water shortage. Those shortages were such that it had to import electricity from the UK to meet the demands. While not every country in the EU is a big nuclear power producer, many depend on imports of nuclear power. For instance, if France and Germany face frequent water shortage problems in the future, the Netherlands will also be highly impacted as its electricity production is not sufficient to supply the entire country. Therefore, rising temperatures and heat waves represent a challenge for all our infrastructure on an international level. It is necessary to undertake renovation plans as soon as possible in order to avoid a collapse of the installations. A three-sided problem arises: maintaining climate sustainability while also expanding electricity supply and utilising water supply.

The problem can be addressed in different ways. Of course, the most talked about is the importance of infrastructure to be conscious of their environmental impact and, when possible, to positively affect the fight against climate change. This vision is starting to gain much-needed momentum. For instance, in an urban environment, many are searching for solutions to build infrastructure having a cooling effect on the city to diminish the "urban heat island" effect that increases energy costs, heat-related illnesses, and air pollution. In Louisville, Kentucky, officials recently signed a $115,700 contract to use trees to help with key issues, such as heat and water management. Other cities, such as Washington DC, take new measures to help owners build grass roofs. An initiative financed by a tax on plastic bags. New technologies depicted in the book Cradle to Cradle would help make buildings energy efficient and energy effective. Meaning that through a holistic approach to architecture, buildings could regulate their temperature and produce their energy. All those new initiatives will definitely help, but before building new "green" infrastructure, the problem of the old ones need to be addressed.

We need to be better prepared if we expect to avoid an infrastructure crisis. Billions, even trillions of dollars, must be directed towards rebuilding and adapting our homes, roads, electric and water delivery systems. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, the country has to invest $3.6 billion in infrastructure maintenance. This is not including the updating of those to endure warmer temperatures and extreme weather. If no sufficient measures are taken in the next few years, we will be facing unsuitable roads and railways, frequent electricity shortages, schools unable to welcome children safely. This last example could foster an easy response. Why not give schools better air conditioning systems? This is the type of thinking we need to stop urgently. That would be sorting out a minor problem while contributing to a bigger one. To prepare schools, in cities for instance, for the coming heat waves, we need to privilege the building of urban forests to mitigate the "urban heat island" effect. Building them following the "energy effective" guideline talked about earlier could also be a solution. We need to answer this challenge with an effective, green and long-lasting solution. The United States has just passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, which includes $550 billion going towards roads, bridges, power, rail, public transit and water. It is a plan not only for maintenance but also for the adaptation to climate change. For instance, $25 million will be dedicated to proving the viability of green energy and its widespread use. Therefore, spending billions on infrastructure is an opportunity to completely transform our way of building infrastructure to a much more resilient one, and bills like this one should become the Gold Standard.

Most of the current infrastructure will not be able to withstand the shock of climate change. The consequences of this are hard to imagine, but putting our infrastructure out of action could cost the lives of an unknown number of people while worsening the consequences of the new climate for the rest. Adapting, improving and maintaining this infrastructure is, therefore, one of the keys to trying to endure a less painful transition to a world shaped by climate change.

References

• IPCC, 2021; "Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change". Cambridge University Press. In Press. August 6, 2021.
• https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/
• McDonough, William, and Michael Braungart. 2009. Cradle to cradle: remaking the way we make things. New York: North Point Press
• Peters, Adele. 2021. "Extreme heat is becoming more frequent–and our infrastructure is going to need to adapt." Fast Company. February 7 2021.
• https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/reduce-urban-heat-island-effect
• Rübbelke Dirk, Vögele Stefan. 2010. "Impacts of climate change on European critical infrastructures: The case of the power sector". Environmental Science & Policy. Volume 14, Issue 1, pages 53-63. November 13, 2010
• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2010.10.007.
• Shandas Vivek. 2021. "Climate Change And Heat Waves Have Brutal Effect On U.S. Cities' Infrastructure." Interview by Lulu Garcia-Navarro. Weekend Edition Sunday. NPR. July 4, 2021.
• https://www.npr.org/2021/07/04/1012978318/climate-change-and-heat-waves-have-brutal-effect-on-u-s-cities-infrastructure?t=1627042385082&t=1630157950102
• Thompson, Claire. 2013. "Extreme heat reveals extreme infrastructure challenges." Grist. July 09, 2013.
• https://grist.org/climate-energy/extreme-heat-reveals-extreme-infrastructure-challenges/