Readiness for storms ahead?

The climate emergency is here now, and collaboration through connected digital twins is key to tackling climate change. 

The recently published JCNSS report points to work underway on digital twins to model climate-related infrastructure interdependencies. As an example it gives the government funded Climate Resilience Demonstrator (CReDo) project which is looking at the impact of flooding on energy, water and telecoms networks.

CReDo is combining datasets from Anglian Water, BT and UK Power Networks into one “system model” to develop a “cross-sector picture of impact of extreme weather events on the infrastructure system”. Using data and insights across sectoral and organisational boundaries, we can collaborate on a national network of connected digital twins to create a resilient infrastructure.

Chair of the Joint Committee, Dame Margaret Beckett MP, said:   

“Storm Arwen showed how quickly the effects of a power shutdown can impact on other sectors. People were left without any access to their landline phones after the storms, and unable even to call emergency services in areas with a poor mobile signal. These cascading crises are a major danger to the functioning of the UK economy, and to society – that is why this is a serious risk to national security."

The UK’s critical national infrastructure (CNI) is vulnerable to extreme weather and other effects of climate change, such as sea level rises. Major power outages, landslides onto roads, buckling train lines and flooding of infrastructure sites: these are all realistic scenarios, and can lead to ‘cascading’ risks affecting other CNI sectors. Different infrastructure sectors are highly interdependent, so the shutdown of one CNI operator may cause knock-on effects on multiple other sectors. 

We need to ready ourselves and adapt to the climate emergency, and although we can’t stop it as we would want to, we can use technology and specifically connected digital twins to mitigate the impact of such natural disasters.  

Read the JCNSS report and find out why the CreDo project is so important.