Extreme weather in the UK and Europe a sign of things to come across the globe

Professor Darryn McEvoy (0430 534 327 or darryn.mcevoy@rmit.edu.au)

Topics: climate change, climate crisis, urban heat and greening, extreme heat

"Climate science has projected an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme events, and the heat and fires currently devastating areas of Europe can be considered a warning sign of things to come. What is considered extreme now is likely to be more commonplace in future years.”

"The heat impacting Europe re-emphasises the need to not only mitigate greenhouse gas emissions as a matter of urgency by reducing our dependence on fossil fuels and moving to 'net zero', but also to adapt our urban environments for what, inevitably, will be a hotter future.” 

"Adaptation of our towns and cities requires city-level actions to address the urban heat island through responses such as urban greening, as well as at the building scale, with existing buildings needing to be retro-fitted to allow people, particularly the elderly, to remain cool during periods of extreme heat. As is being witnessed, the UK's building stock is not designed or built for heat.”

Professor Darryn McEvoy is a qualified geographer, with an interest in interdisciplinary ’solutions-oriented’ action research. His expertise covers climate risk assessment and adaptation, innovative adaptation practice, institutional adaptive management, vulnerability assessment, the building of local adaptive capacity, and the synergies and conflicts between the adaptation and mitigation agendas.

Professor Lauren Rickards (0427 679 043 or lauren.rickards@rmit.edu.au)

Topics: climate change, climate resilient cities, urban planning, extreme heat 

“If we do not mitigate climate change, average and extreme temperatures will continue to increase, meaning that more and more of us and our shared systems will hit physical limits and collapse. Adaptation and mitigation are both urgently needed.”

“Prolonged and extreme hot weather, as we are seeing in the UK, disrupts and degrades the infrastructure and technologies we rely on, including air-conditioning, refrigeration and electricity systems and everything that relies on them, including our food supplies.”

“Dealing with this crisis requires more than short-term emergency measures. Adaptations need to be built into cities quite literally, ensuring that everyone benefits and that we carefully protect our infrastructural and management systems so that impacts do not cascade far afield.” 

“Combined with the way concrete and asphalt absorbs heat and stays hot, the waste heat generated by machines is one of many factors cities easily overheat. The existence of these non-weather related factors means that that there are many ways we can cool our environments in the near and medium term.”  

“Neighbourhoods with good tree cover and open water can be many degrees cooler than those without. At the building scale, light colours, insulation, ventilation and air-conditioning all determine how liveable and workable spaces are.” 

“At both scales, uneven access to cool spaces tends to reflect socioeconomic advantage. So heat and heatwave impacts expose as well as worsen social injustices.”

Lauren Rickards is a Professor in the School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, Interim Director of the Urban Futures ECP and co-leader of the Climate Change Transformations research program.

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Interviews:
Professor Darryn McEvoy, 0430 534 327 or darryn.mcevoy@rmit.edu.au
Professor Lauren Rickards, 0427 679 043 or lauren.rickards@rmit.edu.au

General media enquiries: RMIT Communications, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au