Last summer, Western Sydney, which experiences higher temperatures than the rest of the state, sweated through 37 days over 35 degrees Celsius. Local GP, Kim Loo, who is also the NSW chair of Doctors for the Environment Australia, said heat had a “domino effect” on peoples’ health.

Dr Loo says hot weather disrupts sleep and exercise routines, which could increase the health inequality gap already seen in Sydney’s west.

Dr Loo is concerned vulnerable people, like the elderly, will not be able to manage their health during heatwaves.

“Heat refuges” are air-conditioned shelters aimed at protecting vulnerable residents, like the elderly or those living with disability and without air-conditioning, from extreme heat and heatwaves.

Read the full story which was published on 14 January 2021 on ABC digital HERE.

Have you seen DEA’s informative fact sheet on heat and health?

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