Donal Hickey: Future

When the steel inside the concrete gets wet it rusts and expands, cracking the concrete and weakening the structure in a process sometimes referred to as 'concrete cancer' Walking in the rain on the

When the steel inside the concrete gets wet it rusts and expands, cracking the concrete and weakening the structure in a process sometimes referred to as 'concrete cancer'

Walking in the rain on the beach at Garrettstown, in West Cork, temperatures are around 15°C. News from a car radio says temperatures in parts of Italy and southern Europe are three times that and rising to record levels.

There’s a ‘wish I was there’ moment, but it passes quickly. Bad and all as our summers can be, we’re better off in Ireland in so many ways with generally moderate, tolerable temperatures.

In the summer of 2022, we had a high of 33°C. We’ve also seen severe storms, flooding, and landslips: so-called once-in-a-hundred-year events are due to become much more frequent.

Predictions by climate scientists, decades ago, are now coming to pass, in Ireland. In the future, many aspects of life will be impacted, including buildings, with radical changes in environmental conditions for construction.

The focus has been on insulation to prevent heat loss from homes and offices. Now, however, experts say more ventilation and air conditioning will be needed and windows will have to be shaded to keep things cool.

Design of cities and towns will also change. Former Maynooth University professor and climate change expert, John Sweeney, says urban areas will need more canopies to provide shade, as well as more greenery and trees, to cope with heat.

Buildings can be gradually undermined in many ways. For instance, intense wind and rain can cause outside cladding to deteriorate more rapidly and leak more often.

From melting steel to "concrete cancer", our buildings aren't designed to withstand climate change > by @ranboydell via @TedIdeas https://t.co/h3diPu9ueZ

As sustainable development lecturer, Ran Boydell, points out, materials expand as they get hotter, especially metals, which can cause them to buckle.

High temperatures were partially blamed for causing a skyscraper in Shenzhen, China, to shake, as the steel frame stretched in the heat. Extreme temperatures can even cause materials to melt.

In the scientific journal, The Conversation, Boydell writes that perhaps the biggest concern is how climate change will affect reinforced concrete — one of the most widely-used materials on Earth.

Used in everything from skyscrapers and bridges to the lintels over windows in our homes, this is made by placing steel rods within a mould and pouring wet concrete in. Once dry, this produces incredibly strong structures.

“But a warmer wetter climate will play havoc with the durability of this material," he notes.

“When the steel inside the concrete gets wet it rusts and expands, cracking the concrete and weakening the structure in a process sometimes referred to as 'concrete cancer'."

Meanwhile, Met Éireann, acting with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, has included climate maps and design weather files in a series of new research reports which will guide the design and construction of Irish building projects into the future.

Check out our Sustainability and Climate Change Hub where you will find the latest news, features, opinions and analysis on this topic from across the various Irish Examiner topic desks and their team of specialist writers and columnists.