It feels like we’re being cooked alive.
Sydney, NSW
I used to live in Cobar, NSW. The summers were scorching hot and no amount of hydration felt like hydration. I would get constant headaches as a kid. This was about 25 years ago. Within the past 15 years I have lived around Richmond, Guildford and Blacktown. The heatwaves were/are unbearable. I’d hear about schools thinking of cancelling classes due to the weather. Sometimes I wish it did, as I’d see my niece go to school and come back like me with headaches and totally worn out. I don’t know how you can study in such horrid heatwaves. I remember not being able to sweat as it’s just dry heat. It feels like we’re being cooked alive. We’d be inhaling smoke that would waft to us from nearby bushfires, my eyes would be in pain and very dry and many other physical issues. In the past couple years, my partner and I, as low income earners, couldn’t afford good cooling products so whether we were inside or out it didn’t matter. We can’t afford using the air conditioning in our rental apartment, as we are a low income household. During COVID we moved to the inner west, due to 2 things, weather and economic factors. The weather is slightly better here and rent was cheaper due to covid. After COVID the financial burden keeps rising. It’s much more expensive here than out west and we can feel the climate get worse but by bit. It is closer to work but with an increased price tag. I didn’t realise how much this all was actually weighing on me mentally. Now for those who live in much more rural and more dire circumstances with no way to move, I can’t imagine how horrifying it is.
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