‘Urgent Need’ to Plan for Extreme Weather, Study Warns
19 Jan 2026
Over a 20-year period, one in every 15 emergency department (ED) visits in the region was linked to extreme temperatures, underscoring the growing public health risks of climate change.
The research found that hot weather is set to become an increasingly important factor in climate-related ED presentations as temperatures rise. Analysing more than 1.4 million ED visits, the study also highlights that cold weather currently drives even higher numbers of hospital presentations, a trend likely to continue without targeted interventions.
Between 2000 and 2021, almost 36,000 ED visits in the ACT were linked to heat, representing 2.5% of all presentations. Cold weather accounted for even more, with 4% of visits associated with low temperatures. Canberra, which experiences the coldest winters of any Australian capital city, regularly sees minimum winter temperatures drop below 2°C, according to the Bureau of Meteorology.
While cold-related presentations are expected to decline as winters warm, researchers project they will still drive more than 81,000 ED visits between 2040 and 2061. Heat-related presentations are expected to rise to 69,000 visits, or 2.7% of all ED attendances, over the same period.
Lead researcher Dr Michael Tong noted that hospital presentations increase both on very hot days and when temperatures fall below 14°C. The study also found that people under 20 are more likely to present on hot days, while those over 60 are more vulnerable to extreme cold—but remain at risk during heatwaves.
Professor Hilary Bambrick, Director of ANU’s National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, said the findings reinforce international warnings that climate change poses “one of our biggest public health challenges.” She added: “How we stay safe in a hotter climate and how we ensure our health systems can cope with additional load are now urgent priorities.”
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Source: Tong, M., Bambrick, H., et al. (2026). Extreme temperatures and emergency department presentations in the Australian Capital Territory, 2000–2021. ScienceDirect.