Thermal image of a garden bed at the Hub’s carpark in December 2022 by ‘Heat Detective’ Shantelle Turkington (Images supplied). The yellow colour indicates the bark mulch which reached 61°C, while the purple areas were shaded concrete which was 22°C.
During Summer 2022/23 Western Sydney University trained residents to use thermal imaging cameras to document surface temperatures in the local landscape as part of the Heat Detective project. The images captured temperatures varying from 20°C to over 60°C, demonstrating both the urban heat island effect and simple solutions to reduce its impact.
Key Points:
According to the NSW Government, heatwaves have been responsible for more human deaths in Australia than any other natural hazard, including bushfires, storms, tropical cyclones and floods.
Choices influenced by poor urban planning and design decisions can lead to temperatures rising significantly, impacting both community health and cost of living.
The urban heat island effect can be reduced by choosing appropriate vegetation, soft surfaces, and lighter colours for buildings and landscaping.
No, it’s not a typo and you are not reading about a future climate apocalypse. Sixty-degree temperatures are being recorded in Lithgow right here, right now, and it matters. More people die from heat than all other natural disasters combined, but we can all do something about preventing these deaths.
The urban heat island effect is described by Sebastian Pfautsch, Associate Professor Urban Planning and Management at Western Sydney University, as “a phenomenon whereby surface and air temperatures in built-up areas become hotter compared to nearby vegetated sites”. It is driven by the conversion of green to grey (plants to concrete) in urbanised spaces. This can dramatically raise local temperatures during heatwaves. Sebastian says that “More people die from heat than all other natural disasters combined.”
In Lithgow, it’s usually the lack of heat we all think about, but the images produced as part of the Lithgow Transformation Hub’s three Heat Detectives workshops tell a different story.
Heat Detectives
After a cool and soggy few years, a keen group of citizen scientists enrolled themselves in these Heat Detective workshops, perhaps hoping to find some warmth in what appeared to be a cooler than average summer.
The workshops were organised by Western Sydney University’s Agnieszka (Aga) Wujeska-Klause: a research assistant working with Associate Professor Sebastian Pfautsch. Participants (the Heat Detectives) were taught to use thermal imaging equipment, and then took the equipment home to capture images of urban spaces in Lithgow over a two-week period.
Take a good look at the images below. Note the vibrant colours. Cobalt blue, tangerine orange, gold and carmine red. They are not the hues of glorious summer sunshine but a measure of urban heat captured during the height of summer 2022/2023.
Finalists in the Maldhan Ngurr Ngurra Lithgow Transformation Hub Heat Detectives Art Exhibition (Photo supplied)
At the subsequent Heat Detectives Art Exhibition, Aga explained the equipment is easy to use and learn. It comprises a tablet and a thermal heat imaging attachment. “Once people have it in their hands, they quickly realise how easy it is to use and no different to their smart phones.” It took around an hour to introduce the urban heat topic, demonstrate equipment features and how best to capture images. During the workshops, heat detectives were able to practice using the equipment, ask questions and discuss their ideas about urban heat. By the end they were ready to participate.
Three images were selected from each heat detective, based on the hottest surface they captured. Staff then selected ten finalists and their images were circulated on the Transformation Hub social media pages. The winner was selected by popular vote.
And the winner is …
Cathy Kleingeld’s winning image of the metal ruins at Blast Furnace Park measured temperatures of 57°C. She says she wanted to find the hottest thing in Lithgow and focused on images of structures and buildings, but was really surprised by the surface temperatures recorded in her own images and those of other heat detectives.
‘Heat Detective’ Cathy Kleingeld and the winning image taken at Blast Furnace Park (top).
Gaye Mason, another finalist, also chose structures but thought that colours would contribute to surface heat. She recorded school playground equipment measuring 55°C but says the hottest thing she found in her photography was a bare dirt patch in a green lawn. She realised that it was the combinations of objects that contributed to temperature variability. Cathy agrees. One of her images included metal grates amongst paved areas. She had thought the metal would be hotter, but instead the pavers were. She found old bricks, like those in the Blast Furnace ruins, also had high surface temperatures, and she wondered about new bricks and how that might affect the heat in our backyards.
Gaye’s streetscape image (pictured below), which was also chosen as a finalist, demonstrates the impact of colour and structure on surface heat. The white taxi is at least ten degrees cooler than the road surface and the darker painted areas above the awning are fifteen degrees warmer than the areas under the awning.
Gaye Mason’s capture of a Lithgow streetscape (images supplied)
Cathy and Gaye’s images are not only striking but data rich. As Eric Mahony, Lithgow Councillor noted: “they are art and science.” They provide information which can be used to design urban areas to minimise the urban heat island effect.
Associate Professor Pfautsch and Aga’s research indicates “collectively, dark roofs make neighbourhoods more than 3°C warmer, forcing everyone to pay more for keeping cool in summer.” Choosing colours that minimise surface temperatures also makes economic sense.
What we can all do …
And it is not just town planners and home builders who can help. Sebastian Pfautsch says there are simple things we can all do. By selecting soft green surfaces like gardens and grass rather than paved courtyards, and planting appropriate north facing trees, we can reduce urban heat. Our playgrounds and backyards should be places that people can enjoy without fear of an unintended hot surprise.
Thermal image of a rubber swing in an unshaded Lithgow playground by Leanne Barry. (Images supplied)
If you would like to know more, the following short clip, shown on Gardening Australia in February 2022, features Associate Professor Sebastian Pfautsch implementing his urban heat minimisation ideas to redesign a playground in Western Sydney.
The Maldhan Ngurr Ngurra Lithgow Transformation Hub repeated the Heat Detective data collection in August, this time looking for places heat escapes from our houses in Winter. A selected number of Lithgow households recorded images throughout late August to determine where heat (and heating bill dollars) was disappearing as part of the Hub’s Winter Leaks program.
This story has been produced as part of a Bioregional Collaboration for Planetary Health and is supported by the Disaster Risk Reduction Fund (DRRF). The DRRF is jointly funded by the Australian and New South Wales governments.
Yesterday the community gathered to celebrate Sister Jacinta Shailer`s 98th Birthday! Earlier this year at the Planetary Health Centre she urged us all to join a revolution centred in the transformative power of love, by joining heroic communities that foster compassion, justice, care of the needy, creative imagining, ways of life-giving thinking, ways of contemplating the wonders of our world in the small and the large, the weird and the wonderful. Watch an excerpt of her speech here or read our full story published earlier this year in Katoomba Area Local News (link in profile): https://www.katoombalocalnews.com/create-heroic-communities/
Council is calling on the community to contribute to the development of a Community Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation Plan (CCRAA). There will be a Community Climate Risk and Adaptation Workshop on Saturday 30 August, from 10am to 1pm at Springwood Sports Club, followed by lunch.
You can also contribute by completing the online survey before 29 August.
Your knowledge and experience are critical in helping identify local risks, priorities and practical solutions. Many in our community are already taking action, and these stories, along with diverse perspectives, will help shape a more resilient future for the Blue Mountains.
We encourage you to attend and share the event with your networks to help ensure every voice is heard.
Places are limited for the workshop, so register early here (link in profile): https://climateriskworkshop.eventbrite.com.au Complete the survey here (link in profile): https://yoursay.bmcc.nsw.gov.au/community-climate-risk-and-adaptation-plan-community-survey
The development of this plan is being funded by the NSW Government’s Western Sydney Infrastructure Grant Program.
This video captures the most moving speech at the Peace Symposium: that by journalist and teacher Harumi Hayakawa, who described the true horror and tragedy of nuclear weapons. She went on to describe how, after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the people of both cities dedicated themselves to peace building from the grassroots. Small yet courageous actions by these individuals have reached and changed countless lives in the world. After her presentation, Harumi taught families at the Community Peace Picnic how to fold paper cranes.
At the Peace Symposium, Rotarian Jennifer Scott AM outlined how Rotarians around the world are taking action for peace: from providing mental health first aid in our local community to working for social and environmental justice on a global scale. You can watch an excerpt from her presentation in this video.
In his opening speech for the Peace Symposium Dharug man Chris Tobin shared a Dreamtime story about the Waratah, which emerged from a bloody conflict as a symbol of reconciliation.
@mark_greenhill_oam, Mayor of the City of Blue Mountains, welcomed participants to the Forum: Ban the Bomb, Sign the Treaty at the Blue Mountains Peace Symposium. As a signatory of Mayors for Peace he spoke of the urgency to act to prevent nuclear war and to end the genocide in Gaza.
The Peace Symposium was organised to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
You can watch our full playlist of videos for Making Peace on our YouTube channel (link in profile): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kODwpPinQx4&list=PLBu_QF9Pp5hPoaLWW0ZLHhwS6hPd-x-Rl
View Ecopella`s rousing anthem `You`re Needed Now!` They performed it at the Blue Mountains Peace Symposium on the eve of the March for Humanity and the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Contact them if you`re interested in joining the choir which has branches around Eastern NSW.
If you`d like to hear the other presentations at the Symposium visit the Planetary Health YouTube channel (link in profile)
Renowned Permaculture teacher and Katoomba resident Rowe Morrow has been a Quaker for 40 years. She spoke at the Blue Mountains Peace Symposium about the extraordinary work Quakers have done, and are doing, for Peace, and the strategies they`ve developed: from working to abolish slavery, to being instrumental in starting Oxfam and Amnesty International, to training communities in non-violent communication and conflict resolution, conscientious objection, direct action, divestment strategies and more. You can listen to her discuss these in her presentation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kODwpPinQx4&t=5s
This week President Trump gave an order for two nuclear submarines to proceed towards Russia. This act was the starting point of Robert Tickner`s talk at the Forum: Ban the Bomb, Sign the Treaty in the Blue Mountains Peace Symposium yesterday.
This week marks the 80th anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima and, as ICAN Ambassador, Robert Tickner helped launch ICAN`s Week of Action for Abolition at the Symposium. You can listen to his full talk in the video below or view it on YouTube via link in profile:
Despite the very challenging weather for the Peace Symposium yesterday we also enjoyed an indoor `Community Picnic` with delicious food, origami crane and badge making workshops, a book stall by RoseyRavelston books, and wonderful performances by Ecopella and the Bearded Ladies Community Choir. The venue was dotted with historical posters reflecting a long history of the Blue Mountains taking a stand against war and nuclear weapons and we were thrilled to hear during the Symposium that the Supreme Court had authorised the March for Humanity today.
A huge thank you to the @bm_peace_collective, the speakers, very engaged participants, performers, volunteers and staff who helped make the inaugural Blue Mountains Peace Symposium such a success yesterday! We heard from CEO Dr Rosemary Dillon, Dharug man Chris Tobin, journalist and teacher Harumi Hayakawa, Rotarian Jennifer Scott, Quaker Rowe Morrow, artist Matilda Emmerich, Peace Collective members Bruce Cornwall and Catherine Dobbie, Mayor Mark Greenhill, MC Nick Franklin, ICAN Ambassador Robert Tickner, Indonesian ambassador Siswo Pramono, Federal Member Susan Templeman MP and members of the audience. If you`d like to get involved and receive information about future events you can subscribe to receive our newsletter via the Planetary Health website here (link in profile): https://www.bluemountainsplanetaryhealth.com.au/
Tracie lives, writes and walks on the unceded lands of the Dharug, Gundungurra and Wiradjuri people. Born in Lithgow, she and her family have spent most of their lives living and working with the people and places of the Lithgow area. Her passions are nature and community, which she pursues through story, art, and volunteering in Lithgow and the Blue Mountains.
The story of Lithgow Environment Group is a saga spanning nearly two decades of their heroic struggle against fire, local habitat destruction, weak government legislation and in particular, irresponsible mining practices.
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