InterpNEWS
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Dangerous Heat Wave Is Literally Melting Critical Infrastructure in the Pacific Northwest The heat-caused damage in the Pacific Northwest is a stark sign of how screwed our infrastructure is when it comes to climate change. Dharna Noor 6/28/21
Power cables are melting. School districts are closing. Asphalt is too hot to touch. The heat wave roasting the Pacific Northwest is putting infrastructure at risk, and temperatures are expected to continue to rise on Monday. The failures show the staggering toll the climate crisis is already taking—and they’re a stark warning for the future if we don’t shore up roads, buildings, and other infrastructure central to modern life. A region from California to British Columbia saw record-breaking temperatures over the weekend due to a sweltering heat dome. The heat is so rare that it’s expected just once in 1,000 years. That’s left the region largely unprepared for the intensity and relentlessness of the heat. Infrastructure, from schools and streets to air conditioning and the power grid, is constructed with the Pacific Northwest’s typical moderate heat in mind. But that’s the climate of the past, and the one of the future is just getting started. The temperature records falling now will become more commonplace in the future. Without adapting, more and more people will be at risk of suffering. The safest place to be amid that level of oppressive triple-digit heat in the Pacific Northwest is indoors with the air conditioning cranked. But since they’re built for cooler weather, more than half of all homes in Seattle aren’t outfitted with cooling technology at all.
