Extract from ABC News
Chris Burns is the CEO of Hutt St Centre which provides to support for people experiencing homelessness in Adelaide. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
In short:
Heatwaves have killed more Australians than any other natural disasters combined.
A new report has found more than half of SA is "highly vulnerable"' to extreme heat.
What's next?
The Bureau of Meteorology says hotter than average days and nights are predicted this summer.
It is the first week of summer and Chris Burns says he can not stock his fridge with bottled water fast enough.
The chief executive of Hutt St Centre, a homeless support service in Adelaide, said when heatwaves strike, his facility becomes a refuge for rough sleepers looking to escape the searing temperatures.
With forecasts predicting hotter-than-average temperatures in the coming months, Mr Burns is preparing to support some of the city's most vulnerable residents through the extreme weather event.
"We would go through 200 bottles of water a day," he said.
"We are contingency planning for how we can stay open later, how can we run shifts, how can we handle that increased capacity in demand because we don't want to turn anyone away."
The Australian Council of Social Service said heatwaves kill more Australians than any other natural disaster, including bushfires, cyclones and floods.
It estimates around 36,000 deaths associated with heat occurred between 2006 and 2017.
That means on average, the weather event has claimed 3,272 lives per year, despite typically only occurring during the summer months.
Mr Burns says the centre goes through about 200 bottles of water a day during extreme heat. (ABC News: Carl Saville)
But Mr Burns is concerned more Australians could be at risk this year, as the cost-of-living crisis has hiked up energy bills and forced more people out of the rental market.
"In the last 12 months, we've seen a 30 per cent increase in demand for our services," he said.
"Rather than pay the power to have their home air conditioned, they'll come to us."
"We anticipate we will hit near the limits of our capacity over summer."
Longer and more frequent heat
Modelling from the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast warmer than average day and night temperatures across the country this summer.
Parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales have already endured heatwaves last month.
Ms Minney said the weather event is defined by three or more days of high maximum or minimum temperatures that are relative to the local climate.
The Bureau of Meteorology is predicting a warmer than average Australian summer. (ABC News: Gian De Poloni)
"A heatwave will look different in Darwin compared to Melbourne or Adelaide," she said.
"With the trend of increasing temperatures, we would expect summers to be warmer-than-average more often than not, including being in those record summers occurring more frequently into the future.
"We would expect there to be longer and more frequent heat waves across Australia."
'Highly vulnerable' cities
A newly released report from think tank The Australia Institute shows South Australia is the second-most vulnerable state and territory to extreme heat, behind only the Northern Territory.
The Vulnerability to extreme heat report found 57 per cent of the state is classed as "highly vulnerable" due to the high number of residents grappling with poverty, long-term illness and aged over 65.
"Vulnerable groups may lack adequate access to cooling facilities, suffer from chronic health conditions that are exacerbated by heat, or face socio-economic barriers," the report said.
"As spending on electricity, especially for cooling, has increased during the cost-of-living crisis, many people reliant on government payments are cutting back on cooling to lower their energy bills."
A new report says South Australia is the second-most vulnerable state and territory to extreme heat in the country. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
The report found Port Pirie, Whyalla and Port Augusta were deemed the top three high-risk locations.
Within Greater Adelaide, 57 per cent of the locations were considered highly vulnerable with the northern suburbs of specific concern.
"This area is inland, has sparse tree coverage and a large number of buildings, which may exacerbate the effects of extreme heat for vulnerable people," the report noted.
"In contrast, Adelaide South is the part of the city least vulnerable to extreme heat.
"It is near the coast and has better tree coverage, which help keep temperatures down."
Not a 'typical Aussie summer'
While vulnerable Australians are most at risk to the threat of extreme heat, the state's emergency services warn anyone can be affected.
"Even if you're fit and well and healthy normally, an extreme heatwave if you disregard the warnings … can impact you [and] can make you very poorly and we see that every year," Dr Sara Pullford, from the SA SES, said.
Heatwaves have already been recorded in parts of Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales in recent weeks. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
Dr Pullford said it was a misconception to chalk up a string of hot days to "perfectly normal" summer weather.
"A run of hot days and hot nights can have serious impacts on our bodies and our lives," she said.
"We're tired, we're perhaps a little bit less inclined to pay attention to what we're doing and accidents can happen."
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