Europe’s summer emergency was a dire warning for Australia. What can be learned before it’s too late? | Nick Rowley
Guardian AU
•Tue, 15 Sep 2026 01:36:10 GMT
📰 What Happened
The Guardian published a comment piece on 15 September 2026 by Nick Rowley arguing that Australia should prepare for extreme heat the way it prepares for bushfires. Rowley, who began advising the British prime minister on climate change at Downing Street in April 2004 after the 2003 European heatwave killed an estimated 70,000 people, describes walking through Bordeaux with his 83-year-old mother-in-law in 38C heat in May, and notes that by summer 42,000 hectares around Gironde and Arcachon had burned in France's worst fires since 1949. He cites Italian cyclist Elisa Longo Borghini suffering heatstroke during the Tour de Suisse in June as evidence that extreme heat can overwhelm even elite athletes. The piece states that between 2000 and 2018 extreme heat caused more deaths in Australia than bushfires, floods, storms and cyclones combined, and argues the risk is under-recognised because it leaves little visible destruction and is often recorded as heart, kidney or respiratory illness. Rowley calls for an annual, coordinated heat preparation system, citing a Heat Stress Spotlight Report finding that New South Wales has improved its response to declared heatwaves but that dangerous heat does not always meet a formal threshold, and recommends better public data, cooler housing, more shade and tree cover, stronger thermal protections for renters and social and Aboriginal housing tenants, and workplace heat plans.
🔍 The Backstory
The 2003 European heatwave became a turning point for how governments think about heat mortality, and Rowley's experience advising on climate policy at Downing Street came directly out of it. Australia's own heat record is well documented but less politically salient than fire and flood, because heat deaths are typically recorded under other causes and do not produce dramatic imagery. Older people living alone, people with chronic illness, outdoor workers and residents of poorly cooled homes carry the greatest risk, and physiological heat regulation declines with age while thirst becomes a less reliable prompt. The piece points to two civil-society efforts, Resilient Sydney's Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan and Sweltering Cities, as having pushed heat resilience onto the public agenda, and references a Bureau of Meteorology forecast for a strong El Nino.
🎯 Why It Matters
Heat is the deadliest natural hazard in Australia by the measure Rowley cites, yet emergency planning for it is less developed than for fire, so shifting to a seasonal preparation model could prevent avoidable deaths each summer. The people most affected are older residents, those with chronic illness, outdoor workers and renters who cannot easily cool their homes, which makes housing standards the practical policy lever. Rowley's specific proposal is for NSW Health to lead a seasonal heat plan with clearer warnings, better data on heat-related illness and targeted support, complemented by cooler housing, shade and workplace protections. The wider point is that heat resilience requires state agencies, councils, health services, employers and community groups to work together before a heatwave arrives, rather than after the harm appears in emergency departments.
The Guardian published a comment piece on 15 September 2026 by Nick Rowley arguing that Australia should prepare for extreme heat the way it prepares for bushfires. Rowley, who began advising the British prime minister on climate change at Downing Street in April 2004 after the 2003 European heatwave killed an estimated 70,000 people, describes walking through Bordeaux with his 83-year-old mother-in-law in 38C heat in May, and notes that by summer 42,000 hectares around Gironde and Arcachon had burned in France's worst fires since 1949. He cites Italian cyclist Elisa Longo Borghini suffering heatstroke during the Tour de Suisse in June as evidence that extreme heat can overwhelm even elite athletes. The piece states that between 2000 and 2018 extreme heat caused more deaths in Australia than bushfires, floods, storms and cyclones combined, and argues the risk is under-recognised because it leaves little visible destruction and is often recorded as heart, kidney or respiratory illness. Rowley calls for an annual, coordinated heat preparation system, citing a Heat Stress Spotlight Report finding that New South Wales has improved its response to declared heatwaves but that dangerous heat does not always meet a formal threshold, and recommends better public data, cooler housing, more shade and tree cover, stronger thermal protections for renters and social and Aboriginal housing tenants, and workplace heat plans.
The 2003 European heatwave became a turning point for how governments think about heat mortality, and Rowley's experience advising on climate policy at Downing Street came directly out of it. Australia's own heat record is well documented but less politically salient than fire and flood, because heat deaths are typically recorded under other causes and do not produce dramatic imagery. Older people living alone, people with chronic illness, outdoor workers and residents of poorly cooled homes carry the greatest risk, and physiological heat regulation declines with age while thirst becomes a less reliable prompt. The piece points to two civil-society efforts, Resilient Sydney's Greater Sydney Heat Smart City Plan and Sweltering Cities, as having pushed heat resilience onto the public agenda, and references a Bureau of Meteorology forecast for a strong El Nino.
Heat is the deadliest natural hazard in Australia by the measure Rowley cites, yet emergency planning for it is less developed than for fire, so shifting to a seasonal preparation model could prevent avoidable deaths each summer. The people most affected are older residents, those with chronic illness, outdoor workers and renters who cannot easily cool their homes, which makes housing standards the practical policy lever. Rowley's specific proposal is for NSW Health to lead a seasonal heat plan with clearer warnings, better data on heat-related illness and targeted support, complemented by cooler housing, shade and workplace protections. The wider point is that heat resilience requires state agencies, councils, health services, employers and community groups to work together before a heatwave arrives, rather than after the harm appears in emergency departments.