Study: Heatwaves Will Get Longer, Hotter & More Frequent
The evidence is in… again. The University of NSW has used a database that tracks the last 50 or so years of heatwaves , to discover any trends.
Their analysis shows that heatwaves are getting longer, more frequent and more intense in Australia. One of the climate scientists involved in the study, Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick explains how and why in the video below. She also reflects on the value of using double glazing to reduce heat inside the home, and reduce air conditioner use. In an ABC 7:30 Report aired on 20/11/2015, one of the climate scientists involved in the study, Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick explains how and why. The Interviewer is Julia Baird.
“JULIA BAIRD: And given that emissions are going to increase, obviously there is a debate about to what extent, are we at the point where we need a cultural change, a change in our thinking, where we all start to say okay instead of toughing it out this summer, instead of perhaps buying more air conditioners, we actually try to adapt to it and accept that our lives will be different now?
SARAH PERKINS-KIRKPATRICK: Absolutely I think we needed that about 10 years ago. People sometimes think that double glazing on their windows on their houses for example isn’t a good move because you only need that in cold climates to keep the heat in but insulation goes both ways, if you want to keep the heat in, you also want to keep the cool in and vice versa. So perhaps using those sorts of measures when we are building our houses, maybe making it easier, or cheaper for people to buy those sorts of resources.
That also goes for insulation in the walls of the house, in your roof, making these resources more available. So that goes into our architecture or how we live our daily lives. There are also other ways like maybe the times of days that we move, like it is peak hour out there now, I’m sure a lot of people don’t want to be out there in this hot weather. Perhaps if we moved at different times or could potentially work at home to stop people being out in this extreme weather and getting heat stroke as well. But I would say we needed those changes and that cultural shift to start quite a while ago.”
