TRANSCRIPT
A record Spring heat wave has continued to sweep through parts of Australia, posing significant fire risks and heat exhaustion.
Emergency services are on high alert with hot temperatures across large parts of New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, and the Northern Territory.
And the Bureau of Meteorology has formally declared Australia has now entered an El Niño climate pattern.
The statement comes two months after the World Meteorological Organisation made its own El Niño declaration, raising the prospect of record-breaking global temperatures.
The climate driver is associated with hot, dry weather which emergency services fear will increase the risk of bushfires around the country.
Dr Karl Braganza, the agency’s manager of climate services made the announcement saying the country will expect a summer hotter than the last three years.
"Globally the El Nino really means that we have a continuation of the global heat that we've seen in the global oceans in particular, and the global oceans have been at record temperatures since about April so consistently what we are probably projecting for the summer, is that Australia will continue to stay warm and dry weather, and it's really up to individuals and communities now to prepare for a summer of heat and fire hazards."
Health experts are urging Australians to stay safe and prepare for rising temperatures to avoid heat exhaustion.
Emergency physician Dr Kimberly Humphrey says heat stress needs to be taken seriously.
"We see people who are experiencing all kinds of things. So direct heat related illness is when you're just feeling quite unwell and you know, I've been really tired, maybe a little bit nauseous because it's a really hot day and that can go all the way through to heatstroke, which is when people become very confused, that affects the brain. We see seizures, we see coma and ultimately, we can see death in that situation as well."
The Executive Director of Sweltering Cities, Emma Bacon, says people should have a heat wave plan.
"That means looking at our homes now and saying 'how can I make it easier to keep cool inside? Do I need to get an extra fan? Do I need to get more ice cube trays? How can I block the heat from entering the house with extra awnings or things like that. So that's one of the big things. it's familiarising ourselves with the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke to make sure if we need medical care, then we know when that needs to happen. And what we also can do is we can figure out who we're going to check in on during a heatwave that could be a colleague, it could be grandma, it could be you know a family member who's pregnant, you know, people who might be suffering in the heat, who we are going to check in on and let's make a plan to do that because community connection is one of the best ways to keep safe during a heatwave."
Ms Bacon says extreme heat is a particular problem for the vulnerable.
"So, the people that we know are most at risk during a heatwave is older people, people with a disability or chronic illnesses, pregnant women, little kids, and people who are on medications that make it harder for their bodies to regulate body temperature. But in a summer, like we're going to see now, a lot of us are going to be at risk, even if you don't consider yourself a vulnerable person. If you don't consider yourself one of those categories. The sort of heat we're going to experience is going to be so extreme that all of us need to be careful."
Ms Bacon says policymakers need to realise that unprecedented heat is coming and plan accordingly.
"We need to understand as a community, the government needs to understand that we're going to be facing unprecedented heat. Our existing plans, our existing strategies just aren't going to cut it. What we need is better heatwave emergency plans, at state and federal levels. We need to help people prepare their homes. And we need to make sure that we're communicating about heat wave disasters, so people know when they need to be careful."
Former President of the Fire Brigade Employees' Union Darin Sullivan says the government needs to take more action to address climate change.
"Firefighters have been asking for proper action taken against climate change because until we governments across the country, across the world take proper action on climate change, we're going to see this deterioration in weather, deterioration around risk to communities, and we're going to see many more disasters whether they'd be floods or bushfires."
Mr Sullivan also points out that the firefighting services in Australia will be under a lot more pressure and will require better government support.
"Firefighters on the ground has been saying for the best part of a decade or more, you know that we we're going to need more firefighters on the ground. And you know, asking the community to volunteer their time for these sorts of catastrophic disasters is not going to work forever. We need more career permanent firefighters, funded better, better equipment on the ground because we're now seeing disasters happening more regularly. The impacts of those bushfire disasters, is getting much worse."
