The climate risks threatening your defence facility

Sea levels are rising, which is increasing flood risk at waterfront bases. Extreme heat threatens your infrastructure, staff, and operations. And wind direction and gust speed is getting more difficult to predict.

As the global climate continues to change, so too does your dependence on effective risk management and adaptation plans. 

But exactly what are the risks that these climate hazards pose to your defence facilities? And how can you increase the climate resilience of your naval base to protect your operations?

Read on to find out.

Sea levels are rising

As the climate continues to shift, sea levels will keep rising – putting a significant amount of pressure on waterfront infrastructure.

The effect this will have on your naval base depends on its unique configuration, environment, and tidal conditions. For example, you might control water levels within a dock, or you may be situated on a body of water with a large tidal range.

Some of the biggest risks are:

• Wave overtopping which can cause flooding of dry docks and jetties
• Potentially unsafe berthing of ships, jetty operations, and operations in tidal basins and docks
• Increased load on waterfront structures, risking wave damage to jetties and asset failure
• Reduced operational lifespan of pumps which, if not properly maintained, increases the risk of failure
• Coastal flooding impacting your electrical equipment like transformers, substations, and IT systems, limiting your operations

Your below-ground infrastructure can also be affected by rising sea levels, limiting the performance of drainage systems or causing them to become tide-locked.

The sooner you can build resilience into your infrastructure to mitigate the risks of rising sea levels, the better you can protect your operations from any potential disruption.

Temperatures are increasing

The high temperatures we are seeing as a result of climate change don’t just cause sea-levels to rise, they also present their own significant risks to your defence facility.

While risks due to high temperatures and heatwaves are currently limited, they are expected to increase significantly in the future, and can include:

• Substations overheating
• Equipment damage and malfunctions due to extreme high temperatures exceeding critical thresholds and humidity – both on the waterfront and further inland
• Uncomfortable working conditions outside or in buildings where temperatures cannot be controlled – potentially leading to staff sickness and absence
• Increased stress on office infrastructure and cooling systems
• Increased risk of fire
• Navigation aids and radar may be sensitive to extreme high temperatures, potentially impairing their accuracy and affecting safe vessel navigation

Typically, mitigation measures for heat-related risks are non-structural and low cost. Alternatively, they can relate to your existing infrastructure programmes, making them highly accessible and a quick win to protect your facility, staff, and operations for decades to come.

Wind conditions are unpredictable and destructive

While you are used to managing wind conditions as part of your day-to-day operations, they are becoming increasingly unpredictable. With limited understanding into the future outlook of wind gust speed, typical storm directions, and prolonged severe wind events, you need to build your resilience to the unpredictable.

The most significant potential impacts from more extreme and unpredictable wind conditions are on your vessel movements and mooring operations, and associated infrastructure. They include: 

• Increased vessel movement at berth increases the risks of mooring lines breaking and potential damage to the jetty
• Unstable and unsafe crane operations, which impact naval operations
• Navigation and vessel movements needs to account for more complex conditions
• High winds can damage assets and infrastructure and increase wave action and its associated risks

While, current wind conditions may be manageable, it’s advised to maintain a comprehensive record of wind data to keep track of extremes and trends. Then, you can assess these in the context of climate change to anticipate and prepare for evolving wind conditions.

By carefully monitoring extreme wind events you get a better understanding of wind speed thresholds for safe operating procedures. 

And if you incorporate your findings into the design or upgrade of your infrastructure, you can create jetties with a lower risk of damage and ensure new buildings or roofs account for future wind conditions.  

Naval base climate resilience is crucial to protect your future operations

In the face of geopolitical uncertainty and a growing focus on incorporating modern technology into your operations, climate change can feel like a less immediate threat. But it is one you need to address before it starts to damage your infrastructure and disrupt your operations.

At Haskoning, we have the hazard data, maritime engineering experience, and adaptation knowhow to help you build resilience to rising sea levels, heat stress, and extreme weather events. We’ll help you mitigate climate risks now, and secure your operations into the future. 

Preparing for the future isn’t just about preparing for risk, though. The work towards reversing climate change is already well underway, which means there are several other considerations to bear in mind alongside embedding resilience against these threats. 

For a start, the push towards clean energy – which can include new power management systems, onsite renewables, and the electrification of equipment – means now is the ideal time to start looking at your infrastructure and exploring where the most impactful investments may lie. 

To understand where your money is best spent, you’ll need clear visibility into your current greenhouse gas emissions, as well as ongoing monitoring to assess improvements. Both of these things will require some level of technology investment. 

By tackling climate change on these two fronts, both mitigation and adaptation, you can build a resilient, futureproof port capable of weathering any storm. 

To learn more about the support we offer around navigating climate challenges for naval bases or preparing for a greener future get in touch.