1 of 4 Sanaa (right) and her younger sister Lana live on one of Sydney's heat islands Photo: Sanaa Shah Sanaa (right) and her younger sister Lana live on one of Sydney's heat islands Photo: Sanaa Shah
For Sanaa Shah's family this is Summer in Australia It's very different from the unpretentious coastal lifestyle portrayed in travel guides. “We don’t have a beach nearby that we can go to,” says the 20yearold. “We can’t escape the heat.”
🥵 This one instead suffocating days She often finds herself “locked in the house” with debilitating headaches and causes her younger sister to have severe nosebleeds.
Sanaa's house is in an area of inland Sydney where temperatures can be high 10 ºC more than in districts located by the sea a result of the city's geography, which lacks green spaces and has many areas that retain heat.
This particular region Western Sydney has one of the fastest growing urban populations in the country and rising poverty rates.
🌡️ And meteorological data shows this The thermometers already exceed 35 degrees on at least one out of ten summer days.
Heat is considered Australia's “silent killer” because it is deadlier than all other natural disasters combined.
🚨 The problem is that the phenomenon leaves no clear indication of the extent of its impact.
This is because these effects are not felt equally. More than 60% of deaths related to high temperatures occur in disadvantaged communities like Shah's, a company specializing in climate models.
Now experts say without government intervention, “social inequality” will play a crucial role in weathering Australia’s increasingly scorching temperatures.
Australia sets in Heat wave as three or more consecutive days of exceptionally high day and night temperatures.
Amid these warmer conditions, the The body may have difficulty cooling downwhat causes a series of problemsincluding the Sunlightwhat can lead to this Multiorgan failure if not reversed in time.
Those most at risk are people who are older or have chronic medical problems but those who can't catch a cold risk death.
2 of 4 Australia is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat Photo: Getty Images via BBC Australia is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat Photo: Getty Images via BBC
According to official information Heat has killed almost 300 Australians in the last decade7,000 had to be hospitalized.
But this is what a study by the Australian National University shows These numbers are underreportedas death certificates do not contain detailed information about the cause of death.
According to more specific and detailed criteria the Heat is estimated to have contributed to 36,000 deaths in Australia between 2006 and 2017.
🔥🔥🔥 Much of the danger is related to what scientists call “urban heat islands”.
The term describes builtup areas covered by Materials that enhance heatHow concreteO asphalt and the rows of houses dark roofswhich attract the sun and increase the temperature inside.
Western Sydney home to 2.5 million Australians is an example of this phenomenon.
The region lies at the foot of the Blue Mountains and is protected from the refreshing coastal breezes.
Many residents live there Buildings with inadequate insulation and feel the pressure of rising living costs.
Shah says the summer can be “lonely” as many in the community are forced to “shelter at home” or rely largely on air conditioning.
“That in itself is a privilege because many people don’t have the money to keep their air conditioning running. So they go to the library or the local mall to escape the heat,” she explains.
As Shah studies the effects of climate change at university, he wonders why his neighborhood appears to have been built “in contrast to the local environment”.
“We have a lot of compact houses here, with dark roofs, built quickly and cheaply and with poor insulation. And when you drive around, you don’t see any trees or green spaces,” she describes.
“I don’t think longterm sustainability was considered.”
And she's not the only one to raise such concerns.
3 out of 4 The neighborhood where Shah lives is a 45minute drive northwest of Sydney and was built in 2007 to accommodate the city's growing population. Photo: Sanaa Shah The neighborhood where Shah lives is a 45minute drive northwest of Sydney in 2007 to accommodate the city's growing population Photo: Sanaa Shah
Nearly 50% of citizens were surveyed in Australia's largest survey When it comes to the health effects of heat waves, they assume that neighborhoods were built to increase the heat.
This was also the result of the nationwide survey carried out last year by the NGO Sweltering Cities Almost 70% of people reported feeling uncomfortable on hot days.
The charity educates people living on urban heat islands about where to seek shelter from extreme temperatures or how to use cheaper cooling techniques such as window coverings or outdoor awnings.
The country's authorities are trying to combat the problem. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology recently implemented one Heat wave warning system to warn communities about hot weather and health risks.
Municipalities are also investing in Forest renewal projects to ensure more green spaces in cities.
In Melbourne, two “heating experts” have been tasked with finding ways to make the city more weatherproof.
However, Emma Bacon, founder of Sweltering Cities, argues that further policy changes are needed to make significant progress.
She argues that the The Federal Building Code is being updated to ensure current climate data serves as a guide for the construction sector, with a review of heatwave emergency plans in all states and a nationwide ban on dark roofs.
Last year, New South Wales tried to implement a law requiring the use of lightercolored roofs on all new homes to improve energy efficiency.
But the policy was scrapped because the real estate industry feared the changes would make it harder to provide affordable housing in what is already one of the world's most expensive markets.
For Bacon, this was another example of the “shortsightedness” of lawmakers who did not take the risks of heat seriously.
How we plan our cities today will determine how many people will die in tomorrow's heatwaves.
— Emma Bacon, founder of Sweltering Cities
“Unlike other disasters, safety during extreme temperatures depends on the appearance of your home and workplace.”
4 out of 4 Major fires, droughts and heatwaves will plague Australia in the coming decades Photo: Getty Images via BBC Major fires, droughts and heatwaves will plague Australia in the coming decades Photo: Getty Images via BBC
There are also criticism of Australia's dependence on coal and gas as a source of energy and the country's economy.
Since taking office last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has promised to reduce emissions much faster than his predecessors. However, the current government has also given permission to open several new coal mines.
We are talking about climate change much more openly than we did a few years ago, but we continue to develop fossil fuel resources and literally add fuel to the fire.
— Simon Bradshaw, Climate Council researcher
Bradshaw, who studies extreme weather, warns that unless Australia “moves away from coal, oil and gas” this decade, many people will soon be more exposed to deadly heat.
“It's getting hotter, but every ton of carbon we leave in the ground will reduce the severity of future heatwaves,” he says.
But A reduction in CO2 emissions must also take place in householdssay experts — and that means teaching people different ways to deal with humid days instead of immediately switching to air conditioning.
We must not remain trapped in this vicious circle in which we respond to hot weather with widespread use of air conditioning powered by electricity that comes predominantly from fossil fuel power plants.
— Ollie Jay, Professor at the University of Sydney
Jay, who works in a specially built climate chamber to simulate extreme heatwaves, is urging Australians to adopt Strategies to lower the temperature in summer with fewer resources.
The most effective strategies include Use of fans to directly reduce body temperature (instead of focusing on lowering the heat throughout the house), Moisturize the skin or Dip your feet in a bucket of waterOr put ice in a towel and place it on your neck.
These methods are scientifically proven and can have a big impact on your carbon footprint, emphasizes Jay.
But fundamentally it's about accessible and practical strategies which is something “essential” for Bacon and his team.
“We will do everything we can to maintain a presence in the hot suburbs and protect the communities in which we work,” he says.
“We shouldn’t live in a country where people die in heatwaves because they are poor or vulnerable,” he concludes.
2023 is expected to be the hottest year in 125,000 years, says the European Observatory