'Tis the season to be jolly - but not if you're Santa Claus facing the headache of saving Christmas from the perils of climate change.
In days of old, the cuddly man in red ran his massive Christmas gift manufacturing and delivery service from his North Pole hub without a hitch. But today, he's facing multiple hazards to ensure the world's billions of children receive their presents on Christmas Day.
While his magic reindeer are still going flat-out every Christmas Eve to travel the world, pulling Saint Nick and his giant sleigh full of gifts for good children, it's getting harder every year to complete this important task.
What Problems Does Santa Face?
Climate change is impacting Santa's lifestyle, as rising temperatures, melting ice and higher sea levels are threatening his home and toy workshop. The rise in global temperatures is accelerating the melting ice at the North Pole, while increased rainfall is raising sea levels and causing flooding.
The North Pole is located in the Arctic Ocean, which is covered by permanent sea ice. However, by 2050, climate experts estimate Santa's habitat will be warming up considerably. If climate change continues at its current rate, the ice mass making up the North Pole may no longer even exist less than 100 years from now!
Reindeer Resources
Climate change is also impacting the Arctic's reindeer population. While Santa relies on trusty Rudolph to lead the magic sleigh-pull, he also enlists the help of other reindeer who live in the wild to survive the hectic Christmas schedule.
However, the number of reindeer has reduced from five million to two million in the past 20 years, with changing weather patterns blamed for the drastic decline. The Arctic has become less hospitable to reindeer, as the vegetation they eat is disappearing.
Reindeer are undoubtedly the most important animals of the Christmas season, but by 2050, they could have vanished before we know it, along with one-third of all animal and plant species on the planet. Who would pull Santa's sleigh without Rudolph and his crew?
Fewer Chimneys
One sacrifice Saint Nick is prepared to make is a reduction in the number of chimneys in new homes as we move away from fossil fuels to help save the planet. Governments have set ambitious targets in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions. Using renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and heat pump technology, is a major goal.
This means the population is moving away from burning fuels such as coal and gas, so fewer chimneys will be required in new homes in the future, a practice the construction industry is already following.
Technology has advanced far enough for our homes not to need a fireplace, but the advances in renewable heating will cause problems for Santa when it comes to dropping off the Christmas presents! However, shifting from the chimney to the door or window won't cause him too many hardships if it contributes towards stopping pollution.
Net-Zero Responsibilities
Many businesses have committed to addressing climate change by supporting the Net Zero emissions by 2050 pledge. The British government and UK-based green advisory organisations, such as the Carbon Trust and ERM, have drawn up an action plan to halt climate change before it's too late.
The UK's Institute of Civil Engineers has also launched The Carbon Project, aiming for net-zero in the nation's infrastructure. The initiative aims to provide the civil engineering community with the information it needs to understand the net-zero challenge, to make a meaningful contribution towards achieving net-zero.
An industry-wide initiative, The Carbon Project, is bringing together experts and leaders from across the supply chain to tackle the challenges that are hampering progress towards net zero.
The UK-based Good Homes Alliance is also a supporter of the zero-carbon approach. Its activities include compiling a map of zero-carbon homes across the UK.
Santa's Risks
Another challenge facing St Nick is the tightening up of health and safety laws. Despite flying on only one night a year, Santa Claus is running a very risky business! After all, he's flying a magical air-borne vehicle, pulled by flying reindeer and carrying millions of heavy goods that must be delivered to a tight schedule.
To safely deliver presents to 2.1 billion children's homes in a matter of hours, he needs to travel at incredibly high speeds of up to 1,280 miles per second. This is one fast vehicle and we all know Santa and the reindeer can do it - but the risks are high!
He needs to ensure his sleigh is properly maintained and in good working order, carrying out safety checks before take-off from the North Pole. He must put mirrors on the sleigh, so he can check the blind spots before carrying out any high-speed manoeuvres.
He should have seat belts fitted and when he wants to land his sleigh, Santa needs to make sure it's safe to do so, avoiding power lines, trees and tall buildings. He must also be careful not to have one too many sherries that householders leave out for him, as Santa would NEVER drink-drive!
His famous red suit with its white fur trim should be able to withstand all weather conditions, including the freezing cold nights of Alaska and Antarctica. Once he's carried out all the relevant safety checks, it's full speed ahead for Santa and his magic sleigh!
Tech Help For Santa
Santa could always use IoT (Internet of Things) solutions at his North Pole hub to improve efficiency and his elves' safety. For example, IoT technology could monitor power usage and vibrations on his toy-making machinery in the workshop.
Coupled with analytics software, this could alert him in advance if one of his machines was about to fail - ensuring downtime in the factory wouldn't affect his ability to deliver all the children's toys on Christmas Eve!
Producing toys can be a messy business, with the production floor soon becoming littered with waste materials, tape, boxes, wrapping paper and other hazards. By using IoT and analytics solutions, Santa's Elf and Safety team could be notified on their smartphones when an area needs cleaning, eliminating hazards and resulting in fewer elf accidents.
Should Santa ever employ the services of professional IT solutions experts, he might find his annual task of making and delivering presents to billions of children is much easier! But don't worry, folks: even climate change, health and safety laws and a lack of chimneys won't stop the man in red from delivering your Christmas presents!
Sources:
https://www.digit.fyi/santa-technology-christmas/
https://www.ice.org.uk/knowledge-and-resources/carbon-project#041638787851932
https://realeconomy.rsmus.com/how-the-construction-industry-can-work-toward-a-net-zero-future/
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/achieving-net-zero-the-crucial-role-of-business
https://les.mitsubishielectric.co.uk/the-hub/ho-ho-how-will-climate-change-affect-santa
https://www.harpermacleod.co.uk/hm-insights/2015/december/the-risks-of-being-santa-claus/
https://www.funkidslive.com/learn/the-science-of-christmas/santa-deliver-presents/
https://goodhomes.org.uk/what-we-do/net-zero-and-future-homes
https://www.ukconstructionmedia.co.uk/features/progressing-net-zero-development/
