CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ON CIVIL INFRASTRUCTURE: RESEARCH GAPS AND ADAPTATION PATHWAYS FOR CLIMATE-RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE

Abstract

This paper presents the review of climate change impacts on civil infrastructure of Pakistan. Pakistan has faced climate hazards driven by rising temperatures, melting glaciers and erratic monsoon patterns. These hazard including floods, heatwaves, droughts and water scarcity, and sea level rise have directly affected the structural integrity and service quality of civil infrastructure. Several studies have documented the impact of climate change on the occurrence frequency of natural hazard. However, limited studies have identified the vulnerability of existing civil infrastructure towards these hazards. Therefore, this study is designed to review the literature on climate change impacts to identify the research gaps and vulnerabilities in existing planning, design, construction and operation practices of civil infrastructures and housing units towards climate hazards. Identified research gaps are used to determine engineering priorities for adaptation pathways leading towards climate resilient infrastructure. Analysis of reported damages revealed that climate hazards has severely impacted communication infrastructure, houses, hydraulic structures, WASH projects etc. in the past decades. The vulnerabilities of civil infrastructure against natural disasters were found in various fields of civil engineering such as geotechnical, structural, material, hydraulics and hydrological domains. A review of upgraded design codes and policies to cope the adverse impacts of climate change revealed that the updates are limited in scope to address multifaceted climate hazards. Therefore, engineering priority is required to address the research gaps in developing: flood risk assessment maps, multilevel governance framework, protocols for climate risk knowledge into enforceable practice, real time decision framework, construction with durable materials, climate smart infrastructure. Addressing these research gaps will lead towards adaptation pathway resulting in improved hazard maps with asset inventories, climate informed design standards, integrated planning and implementation across building, water and transport for disaster risk reduction. A climate-resilient infrastructure in Pakistan requires action across the full infrastructure lifecycle.