Climate stories

The summers have been unrelenting, and I suffer a great deal from the heat and have seldom gone out during the heatwave events except when I have to.

Geoffrey’s story

Sydney, NSW

  • Health
  • Heatwave

I live in Sydney’s south-west, and when I first arrived in Sydney in 1980, where were very days when the temperatures reached 40 degrees, and generally the heatwaves were of shorter duration. I was also younger and able to handle the heat better.

Apart from the last couple of years when summers have been cooler because of the effects of La Nina, the summers have been unrelenting, and I suffer a great deal from the heat and have seldom gone out during the heatwave events except when I have to.

In this area, also there were large flying fox populations that have been decimated by heatwave events, and in the last couple of years, because the weather has affected the flowering seasons on the plants they feed on, they have not recovered. The sky at dusk used to show many thousands of them, but now their appearance is sporadic.

I am now 66 and have been aghast at the impact our activities have had on our environment, and it saddens me, because we know it is happening, most of us acknowledge our unsustainable way of life is driving this. What a legacy for future generations.

Climate change is harming us all

Hundreds of people from across the country are sharing their stories to send a clear message to the Australian government - it's time for real action on climate change.

Every story appears as a point on this map. Click around to read how climate change is affecting our communities, and add your own story to the map.

Bec and David's story

Blayney, NSW

  • Drought
  • Storms

We’re trying to protect our land, not just for our kids, but for everyone. When you’re dealing with the changes in the climate it makes the job that little bit harder.

Read my story

Bushfires. Floods. Heatwaves. Disease.

People all across Australia are being harmed by climate change. These are some of their stories.

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