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Experts: Climate change could wreak havoc on infrastructure

"It's a safety issue: we have to do something"

JANE GEORGE

Environmental experts warn that structural damage to buildings may become more common in the Arctic as climate change causes more extreme weather.

"One of the most threatening aspects of global climate change is the likelihood that extreme weather events will become more variable, more intense or more frequent, leading to catastrophic losses," says a report called "Cities and communities: the changing climate and increasing vulnerability of infrastructure."

The report, prepared by the Adaptation and Impacts Research group of Meteorological Service of Canada, says infrastructure in northern communities - that is, buildings, roads and airports - are at risk and will suffer unless action is taken.

"Small and large, they all have to be looked at. Now we have this moving target - climate change. And it's a safety issue: we have to do something," said Heather Auld, associate director of the Adaptation and Impacts Research Group.

The recent floods in western Canada, the U.K. and China show the damage extreme weather can cause.

"It seems to be human nature to wait until there's a catastrophe," Auld said.

But she said infrastructure can show damage due to "weather-related high impact events" even if there isn't a catastrophe like a flood or storm.

Auld said almost all today's infrastructure has been designed according to building codes that are based on outdated climate information, which assumes past weather trends will continue.

And climate change means this won't be the case: weather will be more unpredictable.

The report that Auld co-authored says building codes for dwellings need to be revised to take climate change into account as the survival of housing is "a key factor determining the severity of a natural disaster and the ability of a community to recover."

The report says new structures in permafrost regions such as Nunavut or parts of Nunavik should be built over gravelly "thaw-stable" permafrost to avoid the worst consequences of thawing.

Monitoring will also be necessary.

Even so, the report predicts "extensive repairs" to structures will be necessary as the climate changes.

To lessen the damage, the report suggests structures could be built in replaceable portions, with a permanent core that can withstand change or easily be relocated.

Giving a "diversified lifetime" to the parts of a building is another way buildings could be adapted to climate change. This "diversified lifetime" means a structure would be designed using parts with different life spans.

Structures could even be "designed for disassembly" in case they need to be relocated.

"For structures not as likely to be relocated or replaced, such as housing, the challenges of adapting basic structural components will be more difficult," the report says.

Spending cuts mean even existing structures aren't being replaced or maintained. Because their materials are prematurely aging, they're even more vulnerable to extreme weather.

Auld said the Canadian government is showing more interest in spending to adapt to climate change, particularly as a major international conference on the issue will take place in Montreal later this year.

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