The heatwave hitting many areas of the country is creating stress on more than the people in the cities most affected and pushing more than living beings to the breaking point. One instance of this left drivers stranded in their cars when a bridge malfunctioned under the extreme heat.
What happened?
As reported by Eyewitness News, the Third Avenue Bridge, which connects Manhattan and the Bronx in New York City, got stuck halfway open when extreme heat caused its machinery to overheat.
Journalist Jesse Hamilton (@JesseJHamilton) posted a video of the ordeal to X, formerly known as Twitter.
It's so hot in NYC that the Third Ave Bridge over the Harlem River can't fully open/close because the heat has expanded the steel. We saw workers using a saw to shave part of the steel down & fire boats shooting water on the bridge to cool it down @nbcnewyork #nbc4ny #nyc #heat pic.twitter.com/lAxdyXNHEP
— Jesse Hamilton (@JesseJHamilton) July 8, 2024
"It's so hot in NYC that the Third Ave Bridge over the Harlem River can't fully open/close because the heat has expanded the steel," he wrote above the footage.
He went on to say, and reporting from Eyewitness News corroborated, that the New York City Fire Department was spraying the bridge with water from boats in an attempt to cool it down.
Workers also had to use saws to shave the steel down. Traffic in all lanes was shut down in both directions for over three-and-a-half hours. Thankfully, no injuries were reported, according to Eyewitness News.
"Climate change means more of this!" commented one viewer of the X post.
"One of those hidden consequences of climate change," echoed another. "Now multiply this by 10,000 incidents and you can see the many disruptions this will cause."
Why is this incident important?
The commenters hit the nail on the head. As our planet continues to dangerously overheat, we will see more threats to human health and infrastructure.
While some may see a heatwave as an isolated weather event and extreme weather events have always existed, the scientific consensus is that rising temperatures caused by human activity are supercharging extreme weather events, making them more powerful and dangerous to our communities.
Deaths from extreme heat now outnumber flood-and-hurricane-related deaths combined. Short of death, extreme heat can also lead to heat stroke, heart failure, and respiratory issues, among other things, according to the World Health Organization.
Aside from causing steel to expand, extreme heat can cause concrete to buckle, which may lead to building damage, road buckling, and has even caused runways to crack, leading to major disruptions in travel.
What's being done about rising temperatures?
Experts are working overtime to find solutions that will help expedite the transition away from planet-warming dirty energy sources to clean sources like sun, wind, and water. They are putting wind farms in the middle of the ocean, solar farms in cemeteries, and making concrete substitutes out of mushrooms, just to name a few.
As individuals, a few actions we can take to help stop rising temperatures are switching to an electric vehicle or taking public transit, installing solar panels at home, and voting for pro-climate candidates. Perhaps most importantly, we can also talk to our friends and family about our changing climate.
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