DAILY reports of record heatwaves in the northern hemisphere seem a long way from winter in Bathurst but they warn us of what is to come.
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Globally, heatwaves cause more deaths than cold weather and floods, and repeated high night-time temperatures are especially dangerous because our bodies are unable to recover from the heat, causing increased heart attacks and death.
With the major carbon polluting countries like Australia failing to live up to their commitments on reducing emissions, we can expect temperature records to leap in Australia over the next summers.
RECENT ECO NEWS COLUMNS:
Some of us will take comfort from working in air-conditioned offices and living in air-conditioned homes, but a recent book by Jeff Goodell, Heat: Life And Death On A Scorched Planet, cautions against complacency.
Many new homes and offices are built with little attention to shading, insulation and air circulation and are dependent on air-conditioning when temperatures soar.
Billions of people in poorer countries can't afford air-conditioning and their lives are in jeopardy during heatwaves.
Our dependence on air-conditioning brings its own risks.
Although air-conditioners are becoming more energy efficient, their use will put increasing strain on the grid during heatwaves and, as a result, we can anticipate more and longer blackouts.
People working out of doors cannot take their air-conditioning with them. We can hardly expect linesmen to repair fallen powerlines in temperatures of 50 degrees.
During blackouts, many of our black-roofed, poorly-shaded houses will become furnaces.
Finding cooler places of refuge outdoors will not be easy, especially for the elderly.
Air-conditioners are not magic. They do not reduce overall temperatures. They cleverly move heat from indoors to outdoors.
This means that, in heatwaves, in more densely populated parts of towns and cities, they add to the urban heat "sink", causing concrete to become dangerous to the touch, asphalt to melt and killing infants and animals left in cars.
With heatwaves causing such risks to health, agriculture and the economy, we need to concentrate on dealing with the causes of climate change.
Sadly, our federal and state governments are making climate change worse by regularly approving new coal mines and extensions to existing ones.
Apart from lobbying governments, one thing we can all do in Bathurst to prepare for the predicted heatwaves is to plant lots of shade in our residential areas and our CBD.
Car parks are a good place to target!
