Managing health impacts of heat in South East Queensland, Australia

Abstract

Heatwaves kill more people than any other natural hazard in Australia. Current literature on managing health risks of heatwaves highlights the importance of implementing urban planning measures, and engaging with vulnerable groups on a local level to better understand perceptions of risk and tailor health protection measures. This paper reviews arrangements to reduce heatwave health risks in South East Queensland in response to these themes. A literature search and document analysis, stakeholder interviews, and multi-stakeholder cross-sectoral workshops revealed that although heatwave management is not always considered by local government and disaster management stakeholders, many urban planning measures to minimize urban heat have been pursued. However, greater information from vulnerable groups is still needed to better inform heatwave management measures. IntroductionHeatwaves have been associated with increased morbidity, mortality and hospital admissions in many metropolitan regions globally, including the South East Queensland region (SEQ) in Australia.1-5 Climate change is projected to increase the frequency and severity of heatwave events in SEQ, along with an increase in mean and maximum temperatures. 6,7 This could have critical implications for human settlements in the region as urban areas are especially sensitive to heatwave events because of the urban heat island effect (UHIE), 8,a thereby exacerbating heat exposure for urban residents. This paper contributes to inform multi-scale heatwave management efforts by focusing on the example of SEQ. It draws on the findings of the Human Settlements component of the South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative (SEQ-CARI), a 3-year integrated multi-sectoral study of climate change adaptation options for human settlements in SEQ, including urban planning and management, coastal management, physical infrastructure, emergency management and human health. To this end, the paper is structured in 3 parts. The first part presents the SEQCARI research approach followed by a literature review on heatwave management broadly. The second part presents background information on SEQ and investigates cross-sectoral ambivalences to heatwave management and risks based on document analysis, literature review and empirical data derived from stakeholder workshops and interviews. The paper concludes by providing insights that can inform the development of heat management measures under a changing climate. Research ApproachThe Human Settlements component of SEQCARI aimed to explore and develop a range of appropriate adaptation strategies, policies and practices in each sector and across sectors, for better governance and management in response to the impacts of climate change. The research project was specifically directed to the SEQ region due to the earlier recognition of this region as one of 6 climate change 'vulnerability hotspots' in Australia. 10 The region is particularly vulnerable because of its coastal location and the distribution and location of its...