Sustainable Development

Urban growth, heat islands, humidity, climate change: the costs multiply in tropical cities

Story Bridge, Brisbane, Australia.

Story Bridge, Brisbane, Australia. Image: Joshua Willson/Unsplash

Taha Chaiechi
Senior Lecturer, James Cook University
Silvia Tavares
Lecturer in Urban Design, , James Cook University
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Population and number of cities of the world, by size class, 1990, 2018 and 2030.
Image: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations DESA Population Division.
Cairns’ heatwave summer.
Highest temperatures recorded by James Cook University weather data sensors during the November-December 2018 heatwave in Cairns.
Image: Bronson Philippa
Projections of increased heatwave frequency for Cairns region using visualisation platform on Queensland Future Climate Dashboard.
Image: Queensland Future Climate Dashboard/Queensland Government
The layout and structures of Cairns CBD alter local microclimates by trapping heat and altering air flows.
Image: State of Queensland 2019
Projections of changes in heatwave frequency for northern Queensland in 2030 and 2070.
Image: Queensland Future Climate Dashboard/Queensland Government
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Average climate effect on productivity of cropping farms in southwestern and southeastern Australia since 2000–01 (relative to average conditions from 1914–15 to 2014–15).
Image: Farm performance and climate, ABARES
Impacts of heatwaves on Victoria’s main economic sectors.
Image: State of Victoria Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
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Related topics:
Sustainable DevelopmentClimate ChangeCities and UrbanizationAustraliaAgriculture, Food and BeverageFuture of the Environment
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