Thinking about the future use of salt for de-icing, global warming is probably a term that comes immediately to your mind.
Over the past decades, volumes of de-icing salt that was spread on roads and public spaces grew at an annual average rate of 2.5%. From 2005 to 2011, global road traffic grew from 26 to 29 million kilometers, which corresponds to about 2% annual average growth. In the same period, traffic density increased, and also requirements for on-time delivery. In addition, liability issues, and expectations of the public for a 24/7 servicing of public spaces and roads required increasing efforts.
Will global warming revert this effect and if so, when? At the moment it is observed that the increase of the average global temperature favors more extreme weather events which in turn usually require more de-icing salt. On the other hand, many countries have programs in place to use de-icing salt more efficiently in order to protect the environment and groundwater reserves.
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