As Europe’s railways buckle under record heat, roads melt and power grids strain, countries are turning to an array of fixes for ageing infrastructure, from drones inspecting tracks and AI-powered sensors to a surprisingly simple tool: white paint.
At Norway’s Oslo airport on Wednesday, with temperatures set to hit 30 degrees Celsius, 10℃ above normal for the time of year, workers doused the tarmac with water to keep it cool.
It’s a marked shift in a country more used to coping with the cold that reflects how Europe is having to adapt to rising temperatures that are stoking wildfires, causing thousands of excess deaths and putting infrastructure under growing pressure.
“In Norway, the asphalt must withstand both extreme cold and fairly warm temperatures,” said Jrn Arvid Remark, operating engineer at Norwegian state-owned airport operator Avinor, adding the airport was testing a new heat-resistant asphalt.
The fire brigade sprays around 9,000 litres of water on key parts of the runway, which can get damaged at high temperatures as it softens under the weight of aircraft.
