As extreme weather events increase in frequency and severity, a joint task force formed by NOAA and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is taking steps to ensure U.S. infrastructure is prepared for the challenges of a changing climate. The task force includes CIRES and CU Boulder scientists.

A recently published NOAA report outlines key recommendations for integrating climate science into civil engineering practices. The report stems from a two-day workshop in June 2024, where engineers and climate experts collaborated on updating ASCE standards with climate-informed hazard data. 

According to the report, new design standards will improve the resilience of critical infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, and buildings, to withstand the effects of climate change. The workshop identified six major climate hazards that require updated engineering standards: Extreme temperatures, rainfall and flooding, snow loads, wind hazards, shifting earth materials, and compound flooding.

Joseph Barsugli, a CIRES research scientist in NOAA’s Physical Sciences Laboratory, was the lead author of the report, which aims to accelerate the process of incorporating climate risk data into engineering guidelines.

“Most current [engineering] standards are based on past climatic data, and future projections are only slowly being incorporated into updated guidance,” Barsugli said. “The climate is changing, and improved guidance that a practicing engineer can use is needed now.”

Unlike seismic hazard data, which benefits from long-term funding through the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program, efforts to incorporate climate hazard modeling into engineering codes and standards have faced inconsistent funding. The report calls for sustained federal investment to support climate risk reduction in engineering.

The task force has committed to annual workshops to keep engineering standards aligned with emerging climate science. Their partnership is expected to drive updates to engineering standards for building loads and other manuals of practice used across the civil engineering sector.

“Working with leaders in the civil engineering profession and numerous collaborators on climate science has been intellectually challenging and rewarding,” Barsugli said. “This is, hands down, the most exciting project of my career.”