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


  • Cool Walks Toolkit: Released Today

    Cool Walks Toolkit: Released Today

    Turning local knowledge into cooler, fairer streets As Australian summers become longer and more intense, the way our neighbourhoods are designed is increasingly shaping how safe and comfortable they are to live in. This week, Sweltering Cities is releasing a new resource to help communities take action: the Cool Walks Toolkit. Developed in collaboration with…

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  • Report Released: Summer Survey 2026

    Report Released: Summer Survey 2026

    Summer Survey 2026 Reveals Millions Forced to Ration Cooling During Record Heat The Cost of Keeping Cool is Making Australians Sick Sweltering Cities has today released the findings of its 2026 Summer Survey, exposing a national health crisis driven by the rising cost of keeping cool. With data from over 2,600 respondents across 766 postcodes,…

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  • Heat and Community Solutions in Fremantle: Cool Walk Recap

    Heat and Community Solutions in Fremantle: Cool Walk Recap

    On Monday 9th of Feb, we held our very first WA Community Cool Walk through a pocket of Fremantle. 14 community members joined us to reflect on the ways in which existing spaces and structures impact the happiness, health and heat-resilience of our communities.ย  โ€Ž Perth was on the tail-end of a series of sweltering…

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  • Ann, a Darwin local, shares her NT heat story with us.

    Ann, a Darwin local, shares her NT heat story with us.

    Even though we all know it is hot in Darwin, do we really understand what it feels like to live through it? Thank you, Ann, for sharing your NT heat experiences with us. Ann grew up in NSW but had visited the Northern Territory a number of times, so it wasnโ€™t all totally new to…

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  • VIDEO: Hot City, Cool People

    VIDEO: Hot City, Cool People

    An extreme heat awareness event – Parramatta, Sydney Summers in Sydney are getting longer, hotter and more extreme. On 5 Feb 2026, we filled Parramatta Town Hall in Western Sydney for our biggest in person event yet Hot City, Cool People to mark Extreme Heat Awareness Day. Extreme Heat Awareness Day is dedicated to having…

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  • 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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  • ย Australiaโ€™s biggest community heat survey launches ahead of dangerous 2025โ€“26 summer

    ย Australiaโ€™s biggest community heat survey launches ahead of dangerous 2025โ€“26 summer

    Sweltering Cities has today launched the Summer Survey 2026, Australiaโ€™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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