Exposure to high heat is a major threat to human health. More people die in Australia from heatwaves than all other extreme events combined. With climate change, Australia is becoming hotter. Very hot days and heatwaves are becoming more common.
People experiencing financial and social disadvantage are worst impacted by these events. Those worst affected experience a combination of:
- homes with poor energy performance;
- high energy prices;
- low incomes; and
- health conditions.
A Heat survey distributed from December 2023 to January 2024 found the majority of 1007 people that we surveyed (80.4%) said their homes get too hot. This was often to do with being in homes with low energy efficiency (e.g., no insulation or shading, dark roofing, no eaves).
The report found people most likely to struggle to cool their homes were:
- First Nations people (71.9%), two thirds of whom were in social or private rental, and more than three-quarters of whom were receiving income support;
- people in social housing (78.3%) or private rental (65.7%) with limited control to modify their home or access working efficient air conditioners to better deal with extreme temperatures;
- people receiving income support (60.8%) with limited resources to modify their homes, afford air-conditioning or fans, or afford the running costs to cool their home.