What extreme heat means for Randwick
Maroubra Beach during the summer months
Extreme heat can be very dangerous. It is a serious health risk for our community wellbeing, particularly when hot conditions last for several days and become a heatwave.
In Randwick, coastal breezes can reduce peak daytime temperatures, but humidity and warm nights often make it hard to cool down. As climate change drives more frequent and intense heat across Greater Sydney, managing heat exposure is an increasing challenge for everyone.
How extreme heat affects our community
In Randwick, extreme heat affects daily life, health and essential services. Hot nights increase health risks, particularly for people without access to air-conditioning or well-ventilated housing. These impacts are often made worse by high numbers of buildings, roads and other hard surfaces which absorb and retain heat, reducing nighttime cooling.
Across Australia, heatwaves are the deadliest weather-related hazard, causing more deaths than bushfires, floods and storms combined. Across Greater Sydney, we are experiencing longer and more intense heatwaves than ever before, increasing temperatures in our community.
Key impacts
- Increased risk of heat stress, dehydration and other heat-related illness
- Increased pressure on hospitals, aged care and emergency services
- Reduced safety and productivity for outdoor workers
- Greater energy demand for cooling, increasing household costs
- Failure of roads, power, buildings and transport
Those most at risk
- Older people and isolated residents
- People with chronic illness or disability
- Babies and young children
- Low-income households without home cooling
- Outdoor workers
- People experiencing homelessness
- Pregnant women
- Individuals using certain medications that increase heat risk
Coogee Beach during summer months
Where extreme heat has the biggest impact in Randwick
Heat exposure is not evenly distributed across the LGA. Some areas are hotter than others, particularly neighbourhoods with lots of buildings, higher housing density, less vegetation, and certain building types.
Higher risk locations include:
- High-density areas with limited airflow and ventilation.
- Areas with low tree canopy and limited shaded public space.
- Locations with large amounts of hard surfaces, such as concrete, asphalt and paved areas, which absorb and hold heat (e.g. town centres, major roads or interchanges, shopping and education precincts like UNSW).
- Older houses and apartment buildings that hold heat, particularly overnight.
Heat Vulnerability Map 2022, NSW Government
Recent extreme heat examples for Sydney
- Summer 2025/2026 – Sydney CBD experienced two separate days of 42.2°C.
- January 2021 - Sydney (Observatory Hill) recorded consecutive days over 30 °C from 22 to 26 January. This was the ninth time this has occurred since records began in 1859.
- January 2020 - Penrith in Western Sydney was ranked the hottest place on earth recording 48.9°C.
- Summer 2016/2017 – warmest summer on record for Sydney with a mean temperature 2.8°C above average.
