Debrief: Summer 2024-2025

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, 2024 was our second-warmest year since Australian records began in 1910, with the national average 1.46°C warmer above 1961–1990 average temperatures. This summer we experienced heatwaves, storms, cyclones and floods - and while this is what we are coming to expect from summer in Australia, the impact on communities is no less. So what are councils around the country doing to respond to these increasingly hot and volatile summers?

• We’ll get an update from Kimberley Kueh at Campbelltown City Council (SA – not to be confused with Campbelltown, NSW!) on how their Cool Spaces project progressed over the summer of 2024-2025. You might remember they presented on the first year of the project last year at the Adaptation in Action forum.
• We’ll also hear from Natalie Jamieson from Darebin City Council (VIC) about a project rolled out recently to provide direct, in-home interventions for people living in public housing and struggling with hot homes.
• Sally Bamber from Newcastle will update us on the Beresfield Placemaking and Climate Resilience project, how Newcastle has been using FLIR cameras, and their recent Cool Homes event.

Please also bring along your own examples and questions relating to how councils have been grappling with the challenges of summer in the community, with partner organisations, and internally.