There are a lot of ways humanity is readying itself for the effects of climate change, but in Japan, they’re digging. They are tunneling a massive 42-foot-wide cavern that will eventually stretch some 2.8 miles under the city of Tokyo and divert flood waters.
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00:00There are a lot of ways humanity is readying itself for the effects of climate change.
00:08But in Japan, they're digging.
00:10This is the massive 42 foot wide tunnel that will eventually stretch some 2.8 miles under
00:15the city of Tokyo.
00:17But why?
00:18Well for drainage, as the island nation is expected to continue to get more and more
00:21heavy rainfalls as our planet gets warmer.
00:24That means the city will need more places for that water to go, and their 23 year old
00:28system just won't cut it.
00:30The manager of the tunnel program says that in the 23 years they have had their previous
00:34system, they have had to use it 147 times, adding that the tunnel has mitigated some
00:39$1.03 billion in flood related damages.
00:43However, as the temperature goes up and there's more water vapor in the atmosphere, there
00:46will be heavier and more frequent rain events, especially what they call guerrilla downpours
00:51or sudden violent storms that are becoming more common in Japan.
00:55That also means severe storms like the recent Typhoon Shanshan will likely become more common
01:00as well.