The projected rise in extremely hot days because of global warming presents a serious risk to the health and wellbeing of the Western Sydney community. Due to its geography and built environment, Western Sydney already experiences temperatures 6–10 degrees higher than Eastern Sydney during extreme heat events.

At temperatures above 35 degrees, the human body’s ability to cool itself reduces, making it a common benchmark temperature for occupational health and safety experts, academic and government researchers.

The number of days per year over 35 degrees in Western Sydney has increased from an average of 9.5 days per year in the 1970s to 15.4 days per year in the last decade. By 2090, days over 35 degrees could more than triple to a projected 52 days, as shown in Figure 1.