Heatwaves are Australia’s deadliest environmental disaster. Climate change is making summers longer and hotter, and heatwaves more dangerous. Our cities are sweltering as the urban heat island effect makes it even hotter.
We’re teaming up with Australian Red Cross and other organisations, experts and other partner across Australia to launch the first ever Australian Extreme Heat Awareness Day on February 5th, 2025!
Are you looking for heat health safety information? Scroll to the bottom for a list of resources.
WHETHER YOU’RE AN INDIVIDUAL WANTING TO TAKE ACTION, LOOKING FOR INFORMATION FOR YOUR ORGANISATION, OR WORKING IN GOVERNMENT OR POLICY-MAKING, THERE ARE LOTS OF WAYS FOR YOU TO BE PART OF THE FIRST EXTREME HEAT AWARENESS DAY
How you can get involved
Check in
Have a conversation with family, friends or colleages about the impacts of extreme heat and why urgent action is needed to prevent heatwave disasters in our communities, cities, and suburbs.
Here’s a guide on how you can check-in on your friends, family, and neighbours during heatwaves.
Learn more →
Test your knowledge
Complete our Extreme Heat Awareness Day Hot Quiz for Cool People and be in the draw to win heat-related merch.
Join us online
Attend our webinar with the Australian Red Cross to find out more about the importance of a national Extreme Heat Awareness Day.
Register for the webinar →
Get prepared
It’s easy to protect yourself, the people you love and your community. Find out more at Heatwaves and hot weather | Australian Red Cross or at our Heatwave Information page.
Use your voice on social media
On Feb 5th, all of us can use our voices and our networks to share stories, facts and solutions online. We’ll have posts that you can share, but personal stories or sharing your perspective will be even more compelling.
Follow us on social media and share our Extreme Heat Awareness Day posts.
Sign these petitions
Sign our two active petitions to ensure that no one is left behind during heatwaves:
Stop cutting centrelink payments during heatwaves
1.
Ensure the safety of incarcerated women in a dangerously hot prison in the Northern Territory.
What we’re calling on government to do
Support social infrastructure and community resilience
We’re calling on every level of government to fund heat resilience and preparedness plans. There are great examples of this work, including the Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan.
Social connection and community support are one of the most important ways that we keep people safe during heatwaves. Too often, the organisations and groups that do this work are underfunded or forced to compete for small grants. Community-facing and community-led organsations are leading in heatwave resilience, and should be funded to grow that work.
Climate action
Buring coal, oil and gas is driving up global temperatures. We are calling on government to take ambitious climate action to safeguard the health and wellbeing of present and future generations. We need to urgently move away from fossil fuels that are making heatwaves longer, more severe, and more frequent.
Planning to be safe in a hotter climate
Ensure that all new housing is built for a safe climate future, including a ban on dark roofs in new developments in hot suburbs.
Retrofits for heatwave safe homes
Support energy efficiency upgrades in homes, targeting social housing, rental homes, and low-income households. Everyone should be able to keep cool at home during heatwaves. At a federal level, we can increase the Social Housing Energy Upgrades Program to upgrade all social housing over the coming years so nobody is left behind.
Heat safe rentals
We would like to see political leaders champion cooling and insulation within rental minimum standards across the country to protect renters on hot days. 31% of Australian housholds are renters, and too many of them live in hot homes without the ability to make simple, common sense upgrades like insulation, ceiling fans, screen doors or better blinds.