As Perth braces itself for more record-breaking heat, with communities in the eastern suburbs expecting five days over 40°C degrees in the next week, Emma Bacon the founder and Executive Director of Sweltering Cities is available for comment and interviews.
Sweltering Cities is Australia’s only national campaign and advocacy organisation working specifically on issues related to extreme heat.
"Heatwaves are the deadliest environmental disaster in Australia, responsible for more deaths than all other environmental disasters combined. Due to climate change, extreme heat days are happening earlier in the spring and summer and heatwaves are becoming more deadly,” Bacon said.
"High temperatures can exacerbate existing conditions, such as cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses. During the 2009 Victorian heatwave there were 2.8 times more cardiac arrests than in a normal period, according to the Victorian Department of Health & Human Services.
"Heatwave deaths may be recorded as respiratory or cardiovascular disease related, so we don’t have a clear idea of how many people are killed by heat waves. High overnight temperatures are also dangerous because our bodies cannot recover from daytime heat which puts even more stress on the body.
"The people most affected during heat waves are people without the resources to keep cool, people who live in low thermal efficiency homes that offer little protection from the heat, older people, people with chronic illnesses, people with disabilities, young children, pregnant people
homeless people, people taking medications that make them more sensitive to heat and outdoor workers."
Emma Bacon is available for interviews on 0401 343 058.
EVENT TONIGHT Feeling the Heat: Stories and Strategies for Western Australia's Rising Temperatures
The Conservation Council of WA’s Go Beyond Gas campaign is joining forces with the Western Australian Council of Social Services for a discussion of the health and social impacts of climate-fuelled high heat and heat waves.
Speakers include disability rights advocate Clare Gibellini, James Ashley from the Bureau of Meteorology and Dr Carolyn Orr from Doctors for the Environment.
The event is Thursday 8th February 6pm-8pm at the University of Western Australia, Social Sciences Lecture Theatre [G130], with a livestream option for those unable to attend in person.
For interviews, please call Rachel King at the Conservation Council of WA on 0412 272 570.