Peter took part in our 2024 Summer Survey. We spoke to him this summer about his recent experiences with hot weather. Peter is a retiree– he worked in customer service at IKEA for 14 years!– and has been living in Fairfield for 5 years now.
Peter shares that for him, the most difficult part of summer is the hot, humid nights. He is a renter and does not have air-conditioning. Although the cost of installing air-conditioning is not an issue for Peter, he does not want to go through the hassle of having to take down the system once he moves out. Peter is able to keep cool during hot weather by using his fan and the cross-flow ventilation he gets in his house by opening/closing the doorway to the balcony at different parts of the day. He describes this ventilation as a life-saver for him.
A few years ago, Peter experienced a heat stroke at night. His symptoms included feeling disoriented, extremely tired, and out of energy. He managed to cool himself down by taking a cold shower, and it was this troubling experience that led him to get a fan for his house.
We spoke to Peter a day before Fairfield was expected to reach a maximum of 36°C. Peter was planning on managing this heat by keeping all his doors and windows closed during the hottest parts of the day, and going for a swim early in the morning. We spoke about some tips to keep cool, including spritzing yourself with water. Peter owns some misters for his plants that he said could be useful here!
New research from the Climate Council reveals that Fairfield could experience six more days of temperatures above 35°C by 2050 (bringing the total to 14 days) under existing climate action. This is concerning because Fairfield is one of the most socioeconomically disadvantaged suburbs in NSW. As our Summer Survey showed, communities across hot suburbs are finding it difficult to keep cool due to cost of living pressures. We know much more needs to be done to address climate change and the rising cost of living.
Thank you Peter for chatting with us! Feel free to reach out to us anytime if you’d also like to share your summer story.
