A 135-year-old Victorian bridge is wrapped in white paper to prevent it from overheating and cracking. It is the result of an untimely heat wave in England. a country unprepared for the heat Upside down. A climate event that is expected to break all temperature records in its history.

No one can survive the storm. In fact, in the UK, temperatures of up to 38ºC in London and 40ºC in the rest of the country are expected. would be about highest number recorded on the islandsThe UK Met Office has issued a “red warning for extreme heat” for the first time in history.

The City of London engineers placed silver insulation foil to reflect the sun in the chains of Hammersmith Bridge to prevent potential architectural problems from the heat. And not only that I installed a cooling system all night long. The goal is to keep the foundations of the bridge safe so that it remains open to the public.

Hammersmith Bridge, London.

Here’s the situation: the bridge has four pedestal chains anchored in the riverbed. These chains that support it are kept at 13ºC, however, if for any reason they reach 18ºCAuthorities would close the bridge in the face of a possible structural hazard, as the board of engineers had warned. “Public safety is our top priority,” said Sebastian Springer, who led the project.

This aluminum foil is part of a specially designed €450,000 “pioneering temperature control system”. keep the bridge at a “safe temperature”. In reality, problems come from afar. In 2020, the structure was completely closed for the month of August after high temperatures widened microcracks in its plinths during a heat wave.

It’s also worth noting that Hammersmith, which dates back to 1887 (one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world) is one of the most expensive to repair, with an estimated cost of 130 million. The Ministry of Transport has already warned that it will not pay more than a third of the total repair costs. And for now, the first phase has already cost 8.9 million: just to stabilize these cracks caused by the heat. We will see how the bridge will be damaged when the temperature records are broken.

Image: Hammersmith and Fulham Council