The Hidden Ways Extreme Heat Disrupts Infrastructure
By Meghan Bartels, Scientific American.
Excerpt: Infrastructure across the U.S. is struggling under the climate crisis. Dramatic examples include torrential rains turning New York City’s subway entrances into waterfalls, record cold temperatures shutting down Texas’s power grid and the rising Pacific Ocean eating away at coastal highways. Extreme heat is leaving its own, more subtle mark on the built environment. Roads, power lines, transportation systems and hospitals are being harmed. For some types of infrastructure, researchers are just beginning to understand what heat is doing. ...roads across the U.S. are made with several different asphalt recipes, depending on climate conditions. No matter the recipe, when a road faces hotter temperatures than it can handle, the asphalt softens. Heavy vehicles can then push down into the asphalt as if it were mud, leaving behind ruts; overheated asphalt can also crack. ...Overheated train rails can kink and bridges can buckle or lose the ability to operate as they should. For example, a New York City swing bridge got stuck open last month. Airlines struggle because it’s more difficult for planes to generate lift in thinner air, and they need extra runway. They are also more likely to encounter turbulence. ...Power lines at full capacity can sag in high heat, which becomes a fire risk if the wire touches a tree or other impediment....