Europe has experienced a record-breaking heatwave.

Heatwaves pose a serious health threat but are often underestimated, DEA NSW Chair Dr Loo said.

“People really underestimate, even some of my own patients, are really underestimating how lethal heat waves can be. Working in Western Sydney, we’re often six to 10 degrees hotter than the rest of Sydney during heatwaves.”

As climate change makes extreme weather a more frequent occurrence, a city in Spain has become the first to give a heatwave a name.

In Australia, doctors have been calling for action on climate change.

“Climate emergency is a public health emergency which must get top priority this decade”, stated in September an open letter signed by DEA, the Australian Medical Association and a number of medical colleges. 

Read the SBS news story HERE

Dr Kim Loo is a GP in north-Western Sydney and DEA’s NSW chair.