Heatwaves are Australia’s deadliest environmental disaster. Climate change is making summers longer and hotter, and heatwaves more dangerous. Our cities are sweltering as the urban heat island effect makes it even hotter.
“Severe and extreme heatwaves have claimed more lives than any other natural hazard in Australia... they pose health risks to the most vulnerable, such as elderly people and very young children. Heatwaves can also affect the transport, agriculture and energy sectors and their associated infrastructure.” – Australian Climate Services
Climate change is making heatwaves hotter, longer and more frequent. According to the CSIRO and BOM’s 2024 State of the Climate Report, Australia is already living in a ‘new climate’, having warmed 1.51 degrees since 1910. We are already experiencing the impacts of climate change in our own homes, backyards, and communities. We need better infrastructure to protect our communities from heat. This warming will continue if we keep burning fossil fuels and polluting our atmosphere.
Wednesday the 5th of February is Australia's first Extreme Heat Awareness Day. Initiated by Sweltering Cities and joined by other organisations including the Australian Red Cross, Extreme Heat Awareness Day aims to highlight the serious risks to our health, lifestyles and infrastructure posed by increasingly severe and frequent extreme heat conditions. EHAD continues the conversation about the liveability of our cities in the face of the urban heat island effect and our changing climate, and the need for practical solutions to protect our communities from heat impacts.
Find out more info about Sweltering Cities and Extreme Heat Awareness Day here! Everyone can get involved in Extreme Heat Awareness Day, whether by signing petitions, taking to social media, or starting conversations with friends and neighbours - check out our ideas below for how you can participate on the day!
HOW TO GET INVOLVED ON THE DAY!
- Tag your elected representatives in social media posts about #swelteringcities & #extremeheatawarenessday, or snap a pic of your own and share to socials and tag your reps to highlight the impacts extreme heat is having on your community. Write to them to demand better infrastructure to protect us from extreme heat events - contact details here
- Sign the petitions on the Sweltering Cities website, follow on social media and reshare posts highlighting extreme heat conditions. Be sure to use the #swelteringcities and #extremeheatawarenessday tags! You can find the petitions here and here.
- Volunteer with Lock the Gate and join the fight to protect our land, water and communities from coal and gas! Sign up here!