General News

Extreme heat projected for ‘most days of the year’ for parts of Australia

Parts of Australia could face dangerously high heat levels most days of the year by 2100, projects a Harvard University study published today in Communications Earth and Environment.

The study also predicts that by the end of the century we will experience at least one deadly heatwave a year.

The Climate Media Centre and Climate Council have the following spokespeople available for comment:

Dr Arnagretta Hunter, cardiologist and physician at ANU Medical School:

“Climate change is the greatest health challenge we will face this decade. It has already impacted the lives of ~50% of our Australian population through Black Summer and the recent catastrophic floods. Understanding the current impacts of the increase in extreme weather events on our health and wellbeing is urgently needed.

“Our future climate will be different to the one we have lived through over the past few decades. It is time to use our scientific understanding of the relationship between the environment and human health coupled with imagining the increase in extremes that are likely over the coming decades. This combination of science and imagination is key to climate adaption, particularly caring for communities around Australia.”

Dr Garnett Hall, Australian Veterinary Association WA president and member of Vets for Climate Action, is a veterinary surgeon and practice owner in Fremantle, WA, with experience in emergency management and disaster relief, including bushfires in 2020. He can talk about the impact of extreme heat on pets and wildlife.

Dr Simon Bradshaw, Director of Research at the Climate Council:

“Heat is the silent killer that has claimed the lives of more Australians than all other extreme weather events combined: more than bushfires, floods and cyclones. From 2006 to 2017, it’s been estimated that more than 36,000 Australians lost their lives due to extreme heat.

“Right now, China is sweltering through the world’s worst heatwave on record. Millions are living this climate reality as we speak and it can get much worse if we don’t take urgent action to get emissions plummeting right now.

“This study paints a grim and confronting vision for our future, but the silver lining is that heat is one area of climate extremes where stronger action today is going to make a huge difference to our future.

“If we really set emissions plummeting this decade, then as early as 2040 we would start to see fewer deadly heatwaves than would otherwise occur. Every tonne of avoided emissions, everything we do now to step up our efforts, is going to be measured in lives saved and in a better future for people born today.

“There are substantial public health measures we could be taking to prepare for an increase in extreme heat days, including naming heatwaves as we do cyclones, so people are more aware of their danger and can better prepare for their arrival.

“Of course, the most important and urgent mitigating factor is to rapidly phase out fossil fuels and race towards Australia achieving net zero emissions by 2035. It’s a big job, but it is absolutely crucial we get this right. Every fraction of a degree of warming saved, will be counted in lives saved.”