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https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/jan/12/australia-name-heatwaves-like-cyclones-hurricanes-temperatures-summer-weather>
"Australia should follow the Spanish city of Seville and start naming its
heatwaves as part of measures to help communities cope with the rising risks
from extreme temperatures, according to a new report.
Naming heatwaves could be part of enabling a “heat culture” where communities
prepare for extreme temperature events in the same way they plan for the
arrival of named cyclones, the report said.
Rob McLeod, policy manager at Australian nonprofit organisation Renew and the
report author, travelled to Spain to investigate how cities are coping with the
rising risks from heatwaves.
Seville, in the country’s south, began naming heatwaves in 2022 as a way to
increase public awareness of the risks from high temperatures.
Between June and August 2023, Seville named four heatwaves – Yago, Xenia,
Wenceslao and Vera.
McLeod said: “They were hitting temperatures above 45C for at least three days.
Naming heatwaves is about letting people know that this is a serious issue.”
He said Spanish cities were developing a “heat culture” where people understood
the steps they needed to take to prepare for heatwaves, such as cooling their
homes early in the morning and then using shading, doing outdoor tasks outside
the hottest parts of the day, staying hydrated and checking on vulnerable
community members.
Naming heatwaves also created accountability around the actions that
communities and government agencies needed to take to protect the public at a
time when global heating was increasing the threat, McLeod said."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
