Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, Australia
Rising summer heat and more frequent and intense heatwaves impact countless metropolitan regions, including Greater Sydney, Australia. An analysis of historic air temperature measurements (1859–2020) reveals a notable increase in the number of ‘hot’ (≥35 °C) days during austral summers. While in the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Weather and Climate Extremes |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094724001026 |
| _version_ | 1826575311724085248 |
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| author | Sebastian Pfautsch Agnieszka Wujeska-Klause Judi R. Walters |
| author_facet | Sebastian Pfautsch Agnieszka Wujeska-Klause Judi R. Walters |
| author_sort | Sebastian Pfautsch |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Rising summer heat and more frequent and intense heatwaves impact countless metropolitan regions, including Greater Sydney, Australia. An analysis of historic air temperature measurements (1859–2020) reveals a notable increase in the number of ‘hot’ (≥35 °C) days during austral summers. While in the first 120 years of records 351 hot days were identified, 478 hot days were recorded during 2000–2020 alone. Trajectories of summer heat until 2060 indicate that maximum air temperatures in Western Sydney could be ≥ 35 °C during 160 days.A second, more granular analysis compared air temperature measurements recorded at 274 urban microsites during the summers of 2019 and 2020 with measurements of official weather stations in Central and Western Sydney. Results revealed that the number of hot (≥35 °C), extreme (≥40 °C), and ‘catastrophic’ (≥45 °C) heat days was markedly greater than those reported by official weather stations. Underreporting of heat was greatest across the Local Government Area (LGA) of Cumberland, where data loggers recorded 32 hot and 15 extreme heat days, compared to 7 hot and 1 extreme heat day recorded by the nearest official station. Based on empirical measurements, a set of novel ‘heat risk’ maps identify suburbs and regions inside LGAs where underreporting of summer heat is high. Findings indicate that communities across Greater Sydney are exposed to more frequent and more intense heat than previously reported. Underreporting of local urban heat results in lower preparedness and thus higher risk of harm to urban populations of Greater Sydney and likely many other metropolitan regions. |
| first_indexed | 2025-02-17T18:10:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0fc17026a9f84e0dbe564b64ee056c23 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2212-0947 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-14T13:12:41Z |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Weather and Climate Extremes |
| spelling | doaj.art-0fc17026a9f84e0dbe564b64ee056c232025-03-01T04:59:59ZengElsevierWeather and Climate Extremes2212-09472025-03-0147100741Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, AustraliaSebastian Pfautsch0Agnieszka Wujeska-Klause1Judi R. Walters2Urban Studies, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Australia; Urban Transformations Research Centre, Western Sydney University, Australia; Corresponding author. Urban Studies, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, Australia.Urban Studies, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, AustraliaUrban Studies, School of Social Sciences, Western Sydney University, AustraliaRising summer heat and more frequent and intense heatwaves impact countless metropolitan regions, including Greater Sydney, Australia. An analysis of historic air temperature measurements (1859–2020) reveals a notable increase in the number of ‘hot’ (≥35 °C) days during austral summers. While in the first 120 years of records 351 hot days were identified, 478 hot days were recorded during 2000–2020 alone. Trajectories of summer heat until 2060 indicate that maximum air temperatures in Western Sydney could be ≥ 35 °C during 160 days.A second, more granular analysis compared air temperature measurements recorded at 274 urban microsites during the summers of 2019 and 2020 with measurements of official weather stations in Central and Western Sydney. Results revealed that the number of hot (≥35 °C), extreme (≥40 °C), and ‘catastrophic’ (≥45 °C) heat days was markedly greater than those reported by official weather stations. Underreporting of heat was greatest across the Local Government Area (LGA) of Cumberland, where data loggers recorded 32 hot and 15 extreme heat days, compared to 7 hot and 1 extreme heat day recorded by the nearest official station. Based on empirical measurements, a set of novel ‘heat risk’ maps identify suburbs and regions inside LGAs where underreporting of summer heat is high. Findings indicate that communities across Greater Sydney are exposed to more frequent and more intense heat than previously reported. Underreporting of local urban heat results in lower preparedness and thus higher risk of harm to urban populations of Greater Sydney and likely many other metropolitan regions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094724001026HeatwavesMicroclimateWeather stationsWestern Sydney |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Pfautsch Agnieszka Wujeska-Klause Judi R. Walters Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, Australia Weather and Climate Extremes Heatwaves Microclimate Weather stations Western Sydney |
| title | Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, Australia |
| title_full | Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, Australia |
| title_fullStr | Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, Australia |
| title_full_unstemmed | Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, Australia |
| title_short | Spatiotemporal variation of intra-urban heat and heatwaves across Greater Sydney, Australia |
| title_sort | spatiotemporal variation of intra urban heat and heatwaves across greater sydney australia |
| topic | Heatwaves Microclimate Weather stations Western Sydney |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094724001026 |
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