Be Warned: Climate Change Is Giving Concrete Cancer

Most people understand that climate change can severely impact the natural environment and lead to issues such as increased cases of flooding, draughts, and food shortages. However, fewer realise that global warming’s effects can even extend to non-natural elements as well – most notably, buildings and infrastructure.

On the one hand, architects, civil engineers, and construction companies are already finding solutions for buildings to accommodate a different climate in the future, including alternative building materials and processes, different kinds of room and ventilation designs, and building in more sustainable locations. But these solutions general apply to new builds. The problems, then, are mostly seen in older buildings. Considering that many established urban areas around the world saw massive expansion in the 1970s and 80s, with many more boasting buildings harkening back to the 1800s or earlier, there is evidence that much of the infrastructure present in modern cities was simply not built to withstand the current and continued increase in average temperatures and natural disasters.

This evidence is particularly visible in the noted rise of concrete cancer cases. Specifically, concrete cancer occurs when the steel support structures within concrete get wet and begin to rust and expand, thereby causing the concrete to crack. Cracked concrete, in turn, leads to more water entering the substance, which exacerbates the rust and expansion. Left long enough, concrete cancer can lead to the literal downfall of entire buildings, bridges, or other structures built from this material.

It is likely that in the not-too-distant future most older buildings may need to undergo wholesale repair work to address the issue of concrete cancer. Many more may need to be demolished entirely to make way for structures better equipped to handle the changing climate. And all this indicates yet another costly consequence of climate change.