'Everyone is under great threat': Call for cyclone-like categories for heatwaves

Heatwaves cause more deaths in Australia than all other natural hazards combined, so authorities should consider a cyclone-like rating system to help people prepare for hot spells, a risk researcher says.

While the Bureau of Meteorology has developed its own system to rank heatwaves, there's still scope to complement it with ratings similar to those used to warn about cyclone intensity, said Thomas Loridan, a lead scientist with research centre Risk Frontiers.

Dr Loridan said the public generally understood the relative threat posed by a category 1 tropical cyclone compared with a category 4 or 5 severe storm, as well as different levels of fire danger.

"When you hear warnings about tropical cyclones or bushfires, it's scary," he said. "But when you hear a warning for a heatwave over the weekend, you tend to take it a bit more lightly."

Read Peter Hannam’s story in the Melbourne Age - “'Everyone is under great threat': Call for cyclone-like categories for heatwaves.”