Midweek Musings 12 25.02.2026 Climate friendly infrastructure
Climate friendly infrastructure
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| Building disasters shelters in critical in the day and age of Climate Change |
By Malini Shankar
In the day and age of Climate Change we need to adapt to help mitigate the debilitating impact Climate Change will make not just on our lives but also on the lives of other Creatures, Great and Small. Every small source of global warming needs to be countered with cooling factors. Common Property Resources like transport infrastructure / public transport and emission from private transport, water supply, Climate friendly agriculture, aviation and architecture, Climate Change adapted fuel and energy supply infrastructure, constructed landscape, or areas of human footprint / Carbon footprint, total emissions in a micro climate, are all to be ‘planned’ for Climate Change Adaptation. In short the human landscape as to be Climate Change adapted.
Climate Change does not manifest
as a single violent watershed event like say the Asian or Japanese Tsunamis. It
is more like to manifest as extreme weather events markedly impacting the
vulnerable communities more. Awwwright if this sounds clichéd let us understand
it in simpler language. Violent cyclones are likely to be more frequent as
Climate Change makes its presence felt.
“Despite recognition of the need
for action, policy makers face challenges in understanding where resources
should be allocated, and which practical actions should be prioritized, to
maximize progress. Through a systematic assessment of global research, this
report offers new insights to help address this challenge. Infrastructure’s
central importance to climate action and sustainable development can be
understood across three main dimensions. The largest sources of greenhouse gas
emissions are associated with the energy, transport and buildings sectors (the
last of which include homes, offices and schools). In an increasingly connected
world, and with the COVID-19 pandemic transforming the way we work, learn and
socialize, emissions from the digital communication sector are expected to
rise. However, to the extent that digital systems decrease our reliance on the
transport and building sectors (e.g. through reduced commuting and remote
working), they have the potential to offset emissions and reduce total
greenhouse gas emissions overall” says the UN
report Infrastructure for Climate Action.
Other extreme weather events like
avalanches, blizzards, cyclones, coastal incursion, coastal incursion, climate
change, desertification, droughts, sea storms, epidemics / pandemics (viruses mutate
beyond comprehension because of Climate Change and will challenge public health
systems making COVID 19 look like child’s
play) hurricanes, twisters and tornadoes, flash floods, floods, famine,
mudslides, mud flows, squalls, thunderstorms, urban floods,
will become more frequent and more intense scientists declare, dreadfully. When
these start manifesting simultaneously in more than one place, it will
challenge the Administration and the political leadership unimaginably.
“Hydrometeorological weather
events” include avalanches, blizzards, cyclone, coastal incursion, climate
change, desertification, droughts, sea storms, epidemics / pandemics (viruses mutate
beyond comprehension because of Climate Change and will challenge public health
systems making COVID 19 look like child’s
play) hurricanes, twisters and tornadoes, flash floods, floods, famine,
mudslides, mud flows, squalls, thunderstorms, urban floods. Say Mother Nature
decides to erupt a super volcano just to nullify global warming (yes volcanoes
cool the planet, ironically but I will come to that in a bit) and we don’t just
have a public administration challenge but the impact will be plain debilitating
on the human landscape.
Just imagine, if a super cyclone
has pounded a coastal city. Streets are flooded as storm water drains are
clogged by callously discarded plastics and urban litter. The floods have
contaminated drinking water supply. Water borne diseases have struck on
epidemic proportions. Hot humid conditions coupled with unhygienic conditions
bring Plague to the imperilled coastal city. People are dying like never before.
Ground water inundation has rendered the soil moist and soft tumbling multi
storeyed constructions. Search and
rescue agencies are overwhelmed. Municipal Corporation does not know whether to
start draining the storm water drains first or clean the clutter. Health
officials are challenged by the scale of the epidemic. The politician is
pressurising the Commissioner to recover bodies and valuables from the collapsed
multi-storeyed building. The Commissioner is hanging his head in shame for
overseeing the lack of soil stability report for grant of sanctioned plan for
the illegal constructed multi storeyed building.
Unusual humid winds from the sea
leave the challenged coastal denizens wondering.
Suddenly they hear a vague but
mighty sound, heretofore never heard. An explosion? An aeroplane explosion on
the ocean? Coloured clouds on the horizon bring noxious sulphurous clouds and
within a half hour the first waves of the volcanic tsunami reach the coastal
city. Vehicles that were on the Marina suddenly find themselves on sea water. A
nursing mother with an infant at her bosom is screaming hysterically while
floating on the water in the public bus… Many unfortunate souls perish in the volcanic
tsunami. But ten hours later the Sulphur aerosols hit the Stratosphere and the
strange coastal humidity starts cooling like an unusual evening breeze! Slum
dwellers and other vulnerable communities like frail and infirm are suffering
from biting cold, a sudden / instant Climate Change? That idiotic super
volcanic eruption from some unknown unnamed island in some unknown sea has
dishevelled the lives of millions in this coastal city thousands of kilometres
away. Civil administrators found themselves blind-sided by ignorant politicians
who were asking them if lava will flow into their coastal city with tsunami
waves?
How do we
prepare ourselves for such calamitous events? By being Climate Change Ready. So
what is Climate adapted infrastructure include?
1.
Multiple sources of fresh water supply and
recycled water for different types of usage. That means saving the ground water
table by replenishing it. Grow enough
green cover in notified Green Belts to enhance Catchment Area.
2.
Power supply installations should be fuelled by
renewable sources like solar and wind power and minimalise dependence on hydro power
for electricity generation.
3. All construction should be made without cement; preferred construction material should include locally available resources like mud blocks and fermented mud plastering. Iron pillars for multi storeyed construction is unsustainable. We need to stop this. Full stop.
Emissions from all sources of industrial production and public transport as well as private transport has to be strictly regulated for CO emissions.
4. No fresh water to be utilised for any construction.
Every city has to have disaster shelters for a capacity of around 10000 evacuees. These sheltrs must be handicapped friendly and must conform to the needs of frail and infirm, nursing mothers etc.
5. Planning of per capita consumption of water for
food production, industry, construction, and every other segment of the economy
needs to be calibrated.
Imagine certifying a building in
a metropolis as being built without fresh water, without cement, does not need
air conditioning, which has a lot of space for green cover inside and outside
the premises and so on… it becomes SDG
compliant.
https://content.unops.org/publications/Infrastructure-for-climate-action_EN.pdf
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