In the wake of increasingly dire climate change forecasts, cities and towns across the country are being asked to rapidly cool down urban environments. But experts warn climate adaptation is so far not keeping pace with climate change and it’s northern Australian residents who are being hit hardest.
00:00Park runs in Northern WA start early to beat the heat. At quarter to eight in Carratha it's already 30 degrees.
00:14Well this guy actually had to shave his head because he wasn't dealing with the heat.
00:18But individual responses aren't enough.
00:21Look around there's no trees or any shade anywhere. You can't avoid the sun which is not good for people of my skin complexion.
00:27Carratha Mayor Dan Scott acknowledges the Pilbara can be uncomfortable. Even on a cool day the surface temperature of the asphalt in this car park is almost 50 degrees.
00:36From now on every sort of public infrastructure project that we deliver that is outside we ensure that it's budgeted to include shade.
00:45Most cities use green and blue spaces to mitigate climate change. The natural heat sinks cool down temperatures.
00:52But maintaining these spaces requires lots of water which is scarce in semi-arid regions like the Pilbara.
01:01Further north in the tropics extreme weather has complicated climate adaptation. Darwin lost hundreds of trees in Cyclone Marcus in 2018.
01:09There was a huge reduction in trees of about 30% of our canopy cover was reduced. We're at around 35-36% and it went down to 24%.
01:19Experts say a failure to adapt effectively in the north could have catastrophic social consequences but a lot can be done at relatively low cost.
01:27More shade and buildings made out of cool reflective materials could reduce daily maximum temperatures by up to 10 degrees.
01:34We have the technology to do it. We know how to do it and we've done it in several parts of the world, you know.
01:39It's now up to decision makers at all levels of government to find ways to apply that technology where it's needed most.
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