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ClimateSeverity: High

Bushfire smoke and heat in Sydney

The 2019–20 Black Summer fires blanketed Sydney in smoke, and Western Sydney faces much hotter conditions than the coast.

Sydney · Australia

01 · The problem

What is happening

During Australia's 2019–20 'Black Summer', bushfires burned vast areas of south-eastern Australia and smoke repeatedly pushed Sydney's air quality to hazardous levels. Research published afterwards estimated a substantial health burden from the smoke. Heat is also a growing concern: Western Sydney, further from the cooling sea breeze and with less tree canopy, experiences considerably hotter summer days than the eastern suburbs, and the Bureau of Meteorology has recorded extreme temperatures at Penrith.

High severity. Serious, widespread effects requiring sustained action. Severity is descriptive editorial metadata summarising documented effects. It is not a measured index or a score.

02 · Causes

Why it is happening

  1. 01

    Hotter, drier conditions

    Warming and drought increase fire weather danger.

  2. 02

    Distance from the coast

    Western Sydney receives less sea breeze cooling.

  3. 03

    Low canopy and dense development

    New suburbs with dark roofs and few trees amplify heat.

03 · Impacts

Who and what it affects

  1. 01

    Smoke-related health effects

    Hospital visits and deaths associated with bushfire smoke.

  2. 02

    Heat-related illness

    Older people, outdoor workers and those without cooling are at risk.

  3. 03

    Unequal exposure

    Western Sydney communities bear a greater heat burden.

04 · Solutions

Documented approaches

  1. Air quality alerts

    NSW air quality forecasting and health advice.

    Expected effectHelps people reduce smoke exposure.

  2. Urban canopy targets

    Tree planting programmes for Greater Sydney.

    Expected effectAdds shade and lowers local temperatures over time.

  3. Cool roofs and design guidelines

    Lighter roof colours and heat-resilient design.

    Expected effectReduces indoor and outdoor temperatures.

Explore an illustrative What-If

05 · Key indicators

What can be measured

Notable season
Black Summer bushfires2020

The 2019–20 fire season in south-eastern Australia.

06 · Sources

Where this comes from

  1. [1]NSW Environment Protection AuthorityNSW Governmentepa.nsw.gov.au(opens in a new tab)
  2. [2]Bureau of MeteorologyAustralian Governmentbom.gov.au(opens in a new tab)

Links open the publishing organisation's site. Some point to the publisher's main page, where the named report or dataset can be found.

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