As school returns for the year, parents across Australia are increasingly worried about their children’s health as parts of the country swelter through extreme heat.
Recent research has showed 85 per cent of parents are worried about their children’s health and safety in extreme heat, while 70 per cent said they kept their child inside more often in the summer holidays.
Nicole, 52, from Bulli in NSW, said the weather, especially extreme heat, now plays a major role in how her children spend their time.
“I don’t remember my parents even talking about the weather and changing what we are doing,” she said.
“I am very worried for my children, both now and in the future. I am angry and concerned.”
Nicole also says there is a national park near her home and there is a very real threat of bushfires.
“The heat is [now] at a level that summer isn’t enjoyable anymore. It makes the whole season very unpredictable,” she said.
Nicole is far from alone. According to the YouGov research, commissioned by the Australian Conservation Foundation, 67 per cent of parents who kept their children indoors had negative feelings about doing so.
“Most of the time it’s too hot for the kids to go outside and run under the sprinkler like we did, without risking getting sunburnt,” Laura, 45, from Tanunda, South Australia says.
“Now the combined concern of extreme heat, sunburn and threats of fire (we live in a regional area), summer outdoors is only possible in the early morning and late in the day… hibernating in the cool of indoors during the main part of the day.”
Kelly O’Shanassy, CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation, says the research shows that extreme heat is reshaping childhood experiences and family life.
“Unnatural disasters are forcing families to stay indoors or cancel plans to stay safe. As extreme heat events intensify, so do the calls for urgent action,” she said.
“Australia must stop digging up, exporting and burning climate-wrecking fossil fuels to curb the worsening impacts of extreme weather and unnatural disasters.”
According to analysis from Parents for Climate Action, 254 Victorian schools – around 10 per cent – closed at times in February last year because of heatwaves and extreme weather events. Nearly half (48 per cent) of these closures were on days over 35°C, 30 per cent were on days over 38°C, while 18 per cent were on days over 40°C.
“Schools and early childhood centres are increasingly affected by rising temperatures and extreme weather. Unplanned closures cause chaos for parents who have to reorganise everything and can mean lost income for parents too,” says Parents for Climate CEO, Nic Seton.