On Thursday 5 May residents from across Western Sydney gathered in Penrith to ask Lindsay’s federal candidates questions relating to extreme heat, planning, and the environment. Residents shared their concerns for the electorate, which is one of the most heat impacted regions in Sydney, and their ideas for a more sustainable, cooler future. The eventContinue reading “Locals ask the hard questions of candidates in Lindsay”
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2022 Summer Survey Results Released
Read the results here. The Summer Survey from Sweltering Cities and Healthy Homes for Renters of over 2000 Australians has found that rising temperatures are having a significant toll on community wellbeing including both physical and mental health impacts. It is the largest ever survey on heat, health and homes in Australia. The report releasedContinue reading “2022 Summer Survey Results Released”
Turfing out fake grass: Resources on the impacts of synthetic turf on human health and the environment
Fake grass creates and exacerbates urban heat islands, causing detrimental effects on human health, and the natural environment. It can increase land surface temperatures by 40% or more, absorbing heat, warming air temperatures, hardening soil and thus increasing stormwater runoff. Microplastics are created both during its production and as it degrades. It kills nutrients inContinue reading “Turfing out fake grass: Resources on the impacts of synthetic turf on human health and the environment”
Public housing high-rise residents suffering in the heat with inadequate infrastructure
Sweltering Cities Melbourne Community Campaigner joined a weekly morning tea for residents from some of Melbourne’s over 55’s public housing towers. The purpose of the visit was to discuss their experiences of living in the towers during heatwaves, the effects that the heat has on their livelihoods, and what they would like to see changed.
February 2022 Melbourne Online Community Meeting
Sweltering Cities held our first 2022 Melbourne community meeting online with over 30 attendees. we heard from some powerful key speakers followed by a broad insightful discussion of extreme heat impacts across Melbourne.
Make a submission to the NSW Design and Place State Enviro Planning Policy review
re some good things in the draft like cool roof measures, more trees and improved energy efficiency standards. However we think there are some clear areas where we could do more, like measuring home energy efficiency against future climate projections and going beyond trees to tackle the urban heat island effect on a range of fronts.
New HEATWATCH report for Western Sydney
HeatWatch: Penrith Could Face Nearly Two Months of Extreme Heat Per Year Extreme heat days over 35 degrees are projected to increase five-fold in Western Sydney, where areas such as Penrith could experience up to 58 days (almost two months) of extreme heat per year. This landmark HeatWatch report is by the Australia Institute ClimateContinue reading “New HEATWATCH report for Western Sydney”
Open letter: NSW needs to be more ambitious to reduce extreme heat
Experts, community leaders, local government leaders and civil society have signed onto an open letter calling for the NSW Government to lead Australia in reducing the impacts of extreme heat on our communities and building climate change resilient cities.
Heatwaves aren’t a day at the beach: heat related illness and resources
Heat waves and extreme heat can cause heat related illnesses from heat rashes to heat stroke. Existing medical conditions can be exacerbated by heat include heat disease, diabetes, respiratory or circulatory illnesses or mental illnesses. There is lots of information about how heat impacts our health. We’ve collected some resources for you here: Fact Sheet:Continue reading “Heatwaves aren’t a day at the beach: heat related illness and resources”
Community joins conversation on the health impacts of rising temperatures
On Tuesday 11 May over three dozen community members from across Western Sydney met in Blacktown to join the conversation on the health impacts of rising temperatures. The two main speakers for the evening were Dr Kim Loo, NSW Chair of Doctors for the Environment, Riverstone GP and newly elected member of the NSW AustralianContinue reading “Community joins conversation on the health impacts of rising temperatures”