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"I think the lesson is that we must always be ready to adopt and adapt technology to cope with new problems, whether heatwaves, storms, drought or anything else," Stephen Halliday, author of the book "The Great Stink of London," told Salon by email. "If you look at the latest edition of 'The Great Stink,' just published, there is a postscript on the new Thames Tideway Tunnel which will deal with the sewage overflows caused by storms and concrete."
Dr. Ashok Mishra, a professor at Clemson University's Department of Environmental Engineering and Earth's Science and co-author of a landmark recent study on climate change and heatwaves, elaborated on the specific heat-related problems posed by climate change today.
"Extreme temperatures associated with heatwaves can severely impact human life and the natural ecosystem," Mishra wrote to Salon. "Unprecedented climate events like heatwaves may hamper and cause additional challenges for human systems, particularly in large settlements such as towns and cities."
When those systems break down, one gets incidents similar to the Great Stink, which caused countless Londoners to suffer from preventable diseases.
"The Great Stink resulted from unplanned and rapid population expansion in London without the provision of a proper sewerage system," Mishra pointed out. "Hence it is of utmost importance for cities and planners to account for future population changes and changes in municipal and industrial activities when designing cities and sewerage systems. Additionally, due to climate change and the rise of extreme weather events, there is an urgent need to build climate-resilient sewerage systems, allowing for the distribution of loads and providing backup in events of disruption."
He added, "Failure in sewerage management can lead to an outbreak of diseases, disruption to ecosystem balance, and intolerable odor problems."
Mishra also observed that there are specific Great Stink equivalents that have already transpired.
"Similar to the Great Stink, events of foul smell atmosphere causing discomfort to residents have been observed with the increased occurrence, especially with warmer temperatures and heatwaves causing increased bacterial enzyme activities," Mishra pointed out. "Equipment failure due to a heatwave at Crockett Wastewater Treatment Plant in September 2022 resulted in the plant malfunctioning and the whole town reeling with foul smell emanating from untreated effluents. Smaller towns, such as Osoyoos, British Columbia, relying on sewage lagoons are also facing challenges due to industrial effluents causing the failure of lagoons, while heatwaves and warmer temperatures increase the foul smell and discomfort to residents. The failure of septic tanks due to climate change is causing effluents to seep into groundwater. Marine heatwaves in coastal cities can trigger increased algal blooms, foul smells emanating from the bay, and eutrophication leading to biodiversity loss in the coastal ecosystem."
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