Australians need better planning to cope with extreme heat.
Mike Blake/Reuters
Australia’s scorching summers aren’t just inconvenient: heatwaves are deadly. Yet new research has found many vulnerable people don’t have a plan for extreme heat.
Tennis Australia recommends suspending play when the “wet bulb globe temperature”, which accounts for sun, air temperature and humidity, exceeds 34°C.
AAP/Lucas Koch
It seems obvious that a game should be suspended if it’s too hot to play, but it’s not as easy as implementing a maximum temperature.
The short answer is that it depends on the material the cups and plates are made of, and even what shape they are.
Marcella Cheng/The Conversation
Have you ever been told not to put metal in the microwave? Edie, age 8, wants to know why.
With a hot summer forecast, keeping cool will put a strain on financially vulnerable households.
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Cooling off this summer will be more expensive than ever, putting at risk the very young, the elderly and people with health conditions.
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They provide more than warmth.
Plants and trees cool themselves and the surrounding environment like this building in Paris, France.
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Greening cities have a huge impact. The trees go beyond just lowering temperatures. They help decrease the demand for indoor cooling like air-conditioners saving money.
When is it too hot to fly?
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Major airports around the world will see more frequent flight restrictions in the coming decades because of increasingly common hot temperatures.
Building the hotbox dream: another housing development in Western Sydney.
Katherine Gibson
Extreme heat divides people from the environment and from each other. So with the rapid densification of our cities, what kind of legacies are we building for future generations?
What exactly does research say on heatwaves and hot days?
AAP Image/Tracey Nearmy
Climate Council CEO Amanda McKenzie told Q&A that heatwaves were ‘worsening’ in Australia and ‘hot days’ had doubled in the last 50 years. Let’s take a look at the evidence.
Sometimes only a water fountain will do.
Dan Peled/AAP
Schools need to have a formal policy in place for how to deal with heatwaves effectively and keep children cool and well.
On a hot day, does taking a cold shower make you cooler?
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Some people swear by cold showers to cope with a long, hot summer. Here’s why they’d be better off taking a warm one.
Cities are facing more heatwaves, but not all strategies to keep us cool are equal.
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Our cities are getting hotter. Luckily, as a built environment, we can actually do something about it.
Sydneysiders cool off in heatwave conditions gripping eastern Australia in January 2017.
AAP Image/Joel Carrett
2016 is the third consecutive hottest year on record. How can we adapt?
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Sprinters may be able to power through, but endurance athletes could suffer from hyperthermia and dehydration.
Summer stayed into autumn in many parts of Australia.
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Autumn 2016 was Australia’s hottest, beating the previous record set in 2005.
The records keep on falling.
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Another month, another broken temperature record. Scientists are already confident 2016 will be the hottest year ever, a record only set in 2015.
Some materials and surfaces radiate much more heat (red areas) than others, as can be seen in this thermal image of Arncliffe Street in Wolli Creek, Sydney.
Hot spots occur at the scale of where people live – the building, the street, the block – which means urban design and building materials have profound implications for our health and well-being.
Bushfires and heatwaves are expected to increase and significantly impact on Australian cities and urban communities.
AAP/Tracey Nearmy
How well does the ‘smart’ city respond to the devastating scale and impact of urban heat threats such as bushfires and heatwaves?
The cover that trees provide transforms cities into much more hospitable places, especially in hot weather.
AAP/Joe Castro
Six years after Black Saturday, it’s worth remembering that heatwaves kill more people than bushfires do, so shade can be a life-saver. But tree cover and shade are not evenly distributed in cities.
Health issues from extreme heat are a reality for many in Africa.
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Africa must find ways of dealing with extreme heatwaves or suffer a range of health problems, including fatalities.