The compounding effects of climate change and rapid urbanisation cause cities to heat up. The City of Parramatta in the central region of the Greater Sydney Basin already experiences extreme summer temperatures and heatwave conditions on an annual basis.

This report describes microclimate across the City of Parramatta Local Government Area. Air temperatures were measured at more than 140 locations during the summer of 2018/19. Data analyses revealed that (1) communities of the City of Parramatta are exposed to more extreme heat (>40°C) than previously known, (2) southern and south-western suburbs experience higher air temperatures compared to north-eastern suburbs and (3) large differences in cooling capacity exist among urban tree species.