WA State and Local Government inaction on urban heat mitigation by protecting trees and vegetation to cool our suburbs will have to be urgently addressed to prevent unnecessary deaths as new information has emerged that heat-related deaths could be far worse than thought.
According to this article in The Lancet – Heat-related mortality: an urgent need to recognise and record by Dr Thomas Longden et al.
“National mortality records in Australia suggest substantial under-reporting of heat-related mortality. Less than 0·1% of 1·7 million deaths between 2006 and 2017 were attributed directly or indirectly to excessive natural heat (table). However, recent research1 indicates that official records underestimate the association at least 50-fold“.
Here is another article about the study on the ANUs Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions website; we know that heat kills; accurately measuring these deaths will help us assess the impacts of climate change:
These are frightening statistics that should make heat-related deaths and hospitalisations an urgent issue for the WA Department of Health and the Department of Planning to address. The old projections were bad enough:
They already knew that heat was killing more people in Perth each year than Road Fatalities. Every single COVID related hospitalisation or death is trumpeted across the news, and the statistics are available for everyone to see. But, when it comes to heat-related hospitalisations and deaths there is nothing to see?
The WA Department of Health highlights the threat multiple times in their Sustainable Health Review Final Report that was published in April 2019.
Air conditioning cannot always be relied on during periods of excessive heat. Power outages are common during heatwaves regardless of the energy capacity in the grid as generators and equipment start to break down during extreme heat events. Bushfires can also affect wires. See the WA Department of Health’s, State Hazard Plan – Heatwave (external site) – Heat Wave Levels p 16:
The Department of Health acknowledges the problem and that it is going to get worse in their Climate Health WA Inquiry Final Report (November 2020) which states the following on page 37:
They know, they just aren’t acting.
Cooling our suburbs
Urban heat can be reduced, it isn’t all climate change-related. Urban areas get hotter when trees and greenery are removed. That is why Local Governments here and all around the world have embarked on tree planting and greening projects to reduce what is called the Urban Heat Island Effect.
Below is a diagram from the WA Department of Health’s Climate and Health Final Report November 2020 (page 59) about the Urban Heat Island Effect.
Please note: The above should read, “Trees, green spaces and natural vegetation can [DO not “can”] reduce the Urban Heat Island”. It is the removal of trees and greenery that causes the Urban Heat Island Effect.
Below is a chart from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology from the State of the Climate 2020 report.
Extreme heat doesn’t just affect our health, it also affects productivity. Workers slow down or have to stop work and people stay inside.
The WA State Government must start recording and publishing heat-related deaths and hospitalisations statistics and impose strict tree and bushland protection laws.
Homeowners and business owners who remove healthy shade trees just because they are big or because they don’t like leaf litter might be more accepting of trees if they understand the health and economic benefit that trees provide.
If the Government doesn’t act on this issue, one can only assume that they are more interested in protecting developers’ profits than they are in protecting citizens.
When does inaction become negligence?
Related articles:
The Greatest Killer in New Orleans Wasn’t the Hurricane. It Was the Heat. (New York Times)
Melbourne city centre a death trap as heat-island effect takes its toll (ABC)
Warning over ‘heat island’ effect in cities as tree coverage declines (ABC) “Trees in suburban streets have been shown to reduce temperatures by as much as 10 degrees…”
These two Western Sydney streets are completely different temperatures — here’s why (ABC)
Trees in the US Annually Prevent 1,200 Deaths During Heat Waves
Hundreds Believed Dead in Heat Wave Despite Efforts to Help (U.S.News)
What to do if you see someone collapse in the heat (Metro UK)
We’re investing heavily in urban greening, so how are our cities doing? (CSIRO)
Hundreds Believed Dead in Heat Wave Despite Efforts to Help (U.S. News)
The Greatest Killer in New Orleans Wasn’t the Hurricane. It Was he Heat. (New York Times)
Urban heat – A serious health threat now (Stirling Urban Tree Network)
Reducing the health effects of hot weather and heat extremes: from personal cooling strategies to green cities (The Lancet)
Business district streetscapes, trees, and consumer response
Why our poorer suburbs could be up to 10 degrees hotter than their wealthier neighbours
Feeling the heat: how local government is fighting the impact of the urban heat island effect (Roads & Infrastructure)
Disproportionate exposure to urban heat island intensity across major US cities (Nature Communications)
Melbourne city centre a death trap as heat-island effect takes its toll (ABC)
How mass immigration makes our cities hotter (Macro Business)
Warning over ‘heat island’ effect in cities as tree coverage declines (ABC)
These two Western Sydney streets are completely different temperatures — here’s why (ABC)
Trees in Business Districts: Positive Effects on Consumer Behavior!
This simple addition to a city can dramatically improve people’s mental health
Trees in the US Annually Prevent 1,200 Deaths During Heat Waves
What to do if you see someone collapse in the heat (Metro UK)
We’re investing heavily in urban greening, so how are our cities doing? (CSIRO)
Capture the Rain and Rebuild the Economy: It Can Happen Here! (TreePeople YouTube)
