Red and orange toned photo of a person holding a paper over their head to shield themselves from the sun

Heatwaves are our deadliest environmental disaster

We need a whole of government response including how we plan our cities, transport, energy and health care. 

Sweltering Cities works with communities across Australia to amplify real heatwave stories and advocate for community driven solutions.

Our campaigns

We’re running strategic campaigns to make a tangible difference in hot suburbs and homes. Our campaigns are driven by community need and informed by expert research.

Busted Bus Stops

People are waiting in deadly hot sun, at bus stops without shade or shelter.

Catching a bus should not be a health hazard. Join the campaign for better bus stops in Western Sydney.

Heatwave Safe Homes for Renters

We need better regulations for people who rent to keep them cool in dangerously hot summers. Especially when living in low energy efficient homes, or without cooling and insulation.

Image of Penrith with red and yellow tones

Cool Plan for Hot Suburbs

Climate change is making heatwaves longer and more frequent. And the new and existing infrastructure in our cities fails to protect us from extreme heat. We need to build cities that help us reach net zero, avoid urban heat islands and more.

Image of south asian woman wiping sweat from her forehead

Payments Not Penalties

Our everyday activities become dangerous during heatwaves. Especially for people who need to use public transport or walk to get around. People on Jobseeker payments are putting their safety second to go to appointments. No one should be penalised for prioritising their safety on a hot day.

Images of the Western Sydney suburb of Marsden Park captured in 2009 and 2022 by Nearmap.

How we work

Sweltering Cities works at the intersection of climate justice, inequality and health. We’re building grassroots power, telling compelling stories of extreme heat impacts and winning strategic campaigns that will make a real difference in cooling our homes and suburbs.

Aerial image of Melbourne suburb Werribee

Latest news


  • Extreme Heat Awareness Day 2026: Here’s how it went

    Extreme Heat Awareness Day 2026: Here’s how it went

    On February 4th 2026, we marked the second Extreme Heat Awareness Day. It was the biggest ever national action on heat in Australia, and it happened because of people like you. Launched by Sweltering Cities and the Australian Red Cross, Extreme Heat Awareness Day brings people together for a powerful national conversation about the growing impacts…

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  •  Australia’s biggest community heat survey launches ahead of dangerous 2025–26 summer

     Australia’s biggest community heat survey launches ahead of dangerous 2025–26 summer

    Sweltering Cities has today launched the Summer Survey 2026, Australia’s largest community survey on heat, health and homes, calling on people around the country to share their lived experience of rising temperatures and dangerous heatwaves driven by climate change. The survey collects qualitative and quantitative data on how people manage extreme heat; from cost-of-living pressures,…

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  • VIDEO: A global heat dialogue with HeatWatch India

    VIDEO: A global heat dialogue with HeatWatch India

    Join us for an hour long webinar unpacking heat justice across India and Australia and what we can learn from each other. Hosted by Sweltering Cities and HeatWatch, with support from Australian Progress. Rising temperatures and the public health crisis of heatwaves are being felt across every continent. In response, collaboration between community organisations, researchers,…

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  • Reframing the Heat: First Nations Voices Lead a New Story on Climate

    Reframing the Heat: First Nations Voices Lead a New Story on Climate

    Last month Sweltering Cities convened a one-day First Nations Heat and Storytelling Workshop. The gathering in Sydney brought together First Nations communicators, creatives, organisers and health advocates. It was an unhurried space for conversation, storytelling and reflection, a space designed not to extract or perform, but to listen.  Too often, First Nations voices are invited…

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  • ACTION AT ORIGIN AGM: Energy debt going up as profits climb

    ACTION AT ORIGIN AGM: Energy debt going up as profits climb

    Origin AGM action, Sydney, 15 October 2025 Sweltering Cities is part of the Stop the Bill Shock campaign alongside our partners the Antipoverty Centre and Parents for Climate. The Stop the Bill Shock coalition was outside the Origin AGM in Sydney on Oct 15 to call for the company to: Origin Energy has reported more…

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  • Barbara, a Perth local, reflects on living and planning in the heat

    Barbara, a Perth local, reflects on living and planning in the heat

    As Perth braces for another long summer, many of us are already thinking about how to stay cool. At Sweltering Cities, we’re hearing from people across WA who are noticing how much harder it’s getting to escape the heat. ‎ For Barbara Pedersen, a retired environmental planner living in inner-city Perth, the summer heat is…

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  • Event recap: Sydney Gender and Heat Community Symposium

    Event recap: Sydney Gender and Heat Community Symposium

    On September 26 more than 20 organisations, government agencies, the health sector, and universities, joined dozens of community members in Parramatta for our second Gender and Heat Symposium. The event followed the success of our 2024 Melbourne Symposium that explored how gender and heat intersect. Looking at how heat compounds impacts on women, girls and…

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  • Fairfield Climate Fete: Cool Suburbs, Just Futures

    Fairfield Climate Fete: Cool Suburbs, Just Futures

    Fairfield is recognised as one of the most heat vulnerable suburbs in NSW due to its surface temperatures, low tree canopy coverage, and socioeconomic and demographic data. We know that decisive government action can help create cooler, sustainable, and more equitable neighbourhoods for everyone. This is why Sweltering Cities, alongside groups such as Democracy in…

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  • Heat resilience around the world 🌏

    Heat resilience around the world 🌏

    With the public health impacts of climate change-fuelled heatwaves being felt on almost every continent, communities and organisations are coming together to improve heat resilience. Heat resilience aims to reduce urban heat, while also building the capacity of communities in adapting and responding to extreme heat events.  At Sweltering Cities, we know that heatwaves impact…

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