Heatwaves threaten Australians’ health, and our politicians aren’t doing enough about it

Extreme heat affects the mental health of Australians to the same degree as unemployment, yet Australia’s policy action on climate change lags behind other high-income countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom.

In most states where temperatures are increasing,
 Australians are at a higher risk of suicide.

As Australia approaches another summer, we face the inevitability of deadly heatwaves. Our report published today in the Medical Journal of Australia concludes that policy inaction, particularly at the federal level, is putting Australian lives at risk.

The report, The MJA–Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: Australian policy inaction threatens lives, builds on an earlier publication in The Lancet medical journal, which concluded climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century.

Read the piece from The Conversation - “Heatwaves threaten Australians’ health, and our politicians aren’t doing enough about it.”