The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) latest publication, “Impacts of Future Weather and Climate Extremes on United States Infrastructure: Assessing and Prioritizing Adaptation Actions,” summarizes the likely changes in various extreme meteorological and hydrological events and assesses the vulnerabilities of infrastructure within critical sectors and their collective interdependencies.

Prepared by the Task Committee on Future Weather and Climate Extremes, the report identifies five critical infrastructure sectors: energy; transportation; drinking water and wastewater; water storage and flood protection; and navigation. Each sector is reviewed with respect to the potential impacts of climate change pertinent to that sector, current sector fragility or resilience to such impacts, adaptation readiness, and dependency on or contribution to other sectors. A proposed step-by-step prioritization process is included, along with examples of case-specific prioritization frameworks used by other organizations.

Policy makers and engineers involved in infrastructure planning and design, from the federal level to local stakeholders, will find this book a helpful guide in accommodating projected future weather and climate extremes for their locale.

To purchase online, visit the ASCE Bookstore.