This Australian city could soon become “unliveable”
As heatwave records get broken around Australia, climate scientists warn that one Australian capital city may soon become unliveable as conditions worsen.
A combination of debilitating humidity mixed with climate change could make Darwin off-limits for the average Aussie.
Shockingly, surface temperatures in parts of Darwin’s CBD have been recorded approaching 70C.
Regional cities in Queensland are not far behind.
Towards the end of November, Darwin locals were anticipating the end of the “build-up”, the hot and sticky weather that precedes the wet season.
Earlier this year, the Bureau of Meteorology warned that this year’s build-up would be “brutal”.
“Everything is hotter than normal," said the Bureau’s Greg Browning.
Australian National University’s Dr Elizabeth Hanna, an expert on the effects on climate change on health, told news.com.au that Darwin’s tropical humidity made conditions especially difficult for locals.
“We can cope with much higher temperatures in Melbourne because the air is drier, but in Darwin the high temperatures and humidity are oppressive.
“If it gets worse, those unpleasant times of the year [like the build-up] will extend longer and longer making it not a viable place to live," she said.
Professor Mattheos Samtamouris from the University of NSW is working on a project funded by the NT government to research how Darwin’s heat can be managed.
“The focus is often on the global impact of climate change, but we also need to understand what is happening at a local level, in our own cities," Prof Samtamouris said.
“If we can’t find a way to make our cities cooler, they will eventually become uninhabitable.
“We need to evaporate and sweat to cool down but when temperatures get close to or above our core temperature, and when humidity is high, the air becomes saturated and we’re not going to lose that sweat so our cooling mechanism is hampered,” said Dr Hanna.
In August, the Northern Territory Government introduced a project to identify where Darwin’s hot spots were and what was causing them.
The heat mitigation study used a dedicated “energy bus” and drones to measure air and surface temperatures.
“The study found our streets, parking lots, roofs and pavements have very high surface temperatures, ranging from 45-67C,” said Chief Minister Michael Gunner at the time.
“Areas such as the Post Office carpark, the Supreme Court car park, and the Bus Terminal are incredibly hot — Cavenagh Street (a CBD thoroughfare) is a river of fire.”
Professor Samatamouris explained that Darwin was a prime example of a city that used materials in roads and buildings that turbocharged temperatures.
“Black surfaces like bitumen absorb high amounts of solar radiation, leading to high surface temperatures,” he said.
“A material with a temperature of about 70C may heat the air by around 3C.”
Alternative materials such as “cool” asphalt can bring surrounding temperatures down.
“In Darwin, you have overheating because there’s too much bitumen and not enough greenery."
The study will continue for another year and the Government has already said it will bury one of the major carparks to reduce its impact on air temperatures.
Do you live in Darwin? What measures do you take to keep cool in the soaring heat? Tell us in the comments below.
Image credit: UNSW