SINGAPORE – The sad Miami condominium collapse last week has sparked debate over the influence of climate change and whether coastal places such as South Florida could see more buildings succumb to the elements. According to a story in the New York Times, the disaster was likely caused by substantial structural deterioration caused by “consistent water leaks and years of exposure to corrosive salt air,” which eventually weakened the building’s foundations.
In an area where saline water pushing up from below could compromise foundations, a 2018 engineering study on the project warned of “major cracks and breaches in the concrete.”
The tragedy occurred as cities in the greater Miami area are already feeling the effects of rising sea levels and are unveiling costly mitigation plans.
READ MORE: What can Singapore do to prepare for the next flood?
READ: China grapples with ‘once-in-a-century’ floods that could become the new normal
According to a draft of the city’s long-awaited and recently revealed stormwater master plan, Miami would need to spend at least US$3.8 billion over the next 40 years to keep the city dry from rising seas.
This will fund the construction of 100 new gigantic stormwater pumps, 1.8 m high sea walls, thousands of injection wells, and a network of subterranean pipes so large and wide that even the tallest NBA player could walk over them without colliding with his head.
What happened in Miami last month is an example of how inadequate infrastructure and the worst effects of climate change are wreaking havoc on human lives – even in the world’s most powerful country.
While President Joe Biden ran on the most ambitious climate platform ever offered by a US presidential candidate, his administration must now act quickly to repair the country’s infrastructure in order to withstand the massive storms, fires, and heatwaves that demonstrate climate change is not a distant problem.
On Sunday, March 28, 2021, in Nashville, Tennessee, Adam Wirdzek takes a look at a utility building that was swept down a flooded creek. As a line of severe storms passed across Tennessee, heavy rain swamped houses and roadways. (Photo courtesy of Mark Humphrey of the Associated Press)
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY HEATWAVES?
The reality that climate change will increase the frequency and intensity of heat waves is already being felt in the United States, Canada, and many other places of the world that are becoming increasingly inhospitable.
The Pacific Northwest, which is famed for its temperate temperature, is currently experiencing the most severe heatwave in its history, shattering numerous long-standing records in both the United States and Canada.
READ: Commentary: Climate change has had disastrous consequences during the last decade. However, there is still reason to be optimistic.
Temperatures in the community of Lytton, British Columbia, reached 49.6 degrees Celsius on Tuesday (June 29), breaking Canada’s national heat record for the third day in a row.
In the United States, extreme heat kills more people each year than any other natural disaster. It has massive global ramifications. Thousands of people can die from heatstroke during historic heat waves, such as those in Chicago in 1995, Europe in 2003, and France in 2019. Many more suffer severe health consequences that can linger long after the heat has passed. What exactly is going on? Are these catastrophic weather events a harbinger of a disastrous, human-caused climate shift? Or are we simply experiencing a period of terrible luck? In a nutshell, the answer is both. Two pressure systems, one from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands and the other from Canada’s James Bay and Hudson Bay, combined to create a “heat dome” that triggered the heat wave. This type of weather event might strike at any time. However, weather systems alone cannot account for the unprecedented severe temperatures. Another thing is that the Earth is becoming dangerously hot. Recent extreme weather events in Russia, India, and Iraq indicate that the climate is approaching unknown territory, implying that weather will progressively deviate from historical norms. A new discipline of climate study has evolved in science, and it is beginning to investigate the human fingerprint on extreme weather events including floods, heat waves, droughts, and storms. Scientists discovered that without human involvement, it would be nearly hard to set a new record, such as the hot June in the Pacific Northwest region. It can happen every 15 years or so due to climate change. And if current levels of greenhouse gas emissions persist, the event may occur every year or two by the end of the twenty-first century, which would be terrible odds. (Floods, fires, and droughts have always occurred, but what are the insurance and climate change challenges? Is there a distinction between physical and transition risk? The Climate Conversations on CNA will tell you more.) INFRASTRUCTURE RENOVATION Thankfully, both Democratic and Republican government leaders are increasingly accepting that climate change is a driving cause behind many extreme weather occurrences, including heat waves and storms. But, just as crucial as the US sticking to its climate promises, the country’s infrastructure is in desperate need of investment. READ: ‘We’ve made an agreement’: Biden announces a deal on infrastructure. In aviation, dams, hazardous waste, inland rivers, levees, public parks, roads, schools, stormwater, transit, and wastewater, the American Society of Civil Engineers recently assigned the United States a “D” rating. For the past half-century, government infrastructure spending as a percentage of GDP has been declining. Failure to invest in infrastructure has resulted in critically deteriorated roads, bridges, and other assets around the country. Many transportation facilities are also below ground level; tunnels in the New York subway, for example, were severely flooded during Hurricane Sandy. Climate change will exacerbate the problems associated with aging infrastructure. Sea-level rise poses a threat to airports located at low altitudes along the coast. Road buckling can be caused by extreme heat, and freeze-thaw cycles can result in pavement cracking and potholes.
On Wednesday, June 30, 2021, Kais Bothe relaxes in the chill of the city hall pool as temperatures in Edmonton, Alberta, reach 37 degrees Celsius. (AP Photo/Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)
Extreme weather that wreaked havoc on Texas’ electricity infrastructure earlier this year served as a sharp warning of how climate change can imperil systems that lack robust public investment.
The temperature plunged in mid-February, dumping several inches of snow and knocking out electricity for millions. However, energy officials warned the state’s electric-grid operators ten years ago, in 2011, that they were unprepared for an epic winter storm. Despite the warnings, the state was caught off guard. Power plant equipment froze, knocking out approximately half of the state’s electricity-generating capacity. Natural gas wells froze over, reducing the amount of fuel available to heat homes. Millions were left without power, at least one city turned off its water supply, and hundreds of cases of carbon monoxide poisoning were reported in Harris County, where Houston is located, as Texans turned on their own generators to warm up. INFRASTRUCTURE AS A KEY AGENDA IN CLIMATE CHANGEInfrastructure is a powerful driver of economic growth and inclusive development, capable of boosting aggregate demand today while also laying the groundwork for future prosperity. It’s also a big part of the climate change plan. Infrastructure is a large component of the problem when done incorrectly; when done well, it is a major element of the solution. READ: Commentary: Joe Biden is changing the United States and the rest of the globe in his image. Infrastructure is often designed with the assumption of a future climate similar to today’s. However, when the climate changes and more extreme weather events become more common, the climate bands become obsolete, causing infrastructure to operate outside of its tolerance thresholds. This can pose direct hazards to assets as well as major consequences for individuals who rely on the services provided by such assets. Strong institutions are also required to ensure the investment’s viability, quality, and impact. The ability to build solid project pipelines and institutional structures for public-private collaborations is very critical. Finally, technical innovation is required to deliver increasingly efficient low-carbon, climate-resilient infrastructure components. As a result, major increases in research and development – particularly in renewable-energy technology – are required. The United States can achieve both infrastructure investment and climate action at the same time with the correct approach, paving the way for a more prosperous and sustainable future. The Director of NTU’s Singapore Earth Observatory is Professor Benjamin P Horton. /n
