Sydney ‘vulnerable’ to rising seas, government report says

Sydney is not immune. This city “postcard” from Australia is “vulnerable” to rising sea levels due to global warming, according to a government climate report released Monday, August 19. The state of New South Wales, where the city is located, has warned that Sydney could face a temperature increase of 1.8 degrees Celsius by 2050, and that forecast could be doubled by 2090 if global warming is not curbed.

These temperature increases would cause serious problems for coastal and bushland populations. The report said the Sydney Opera House, the city’s iconic landmark on the harbour, and the city’s northern beaches would be severely affected.

In the worst-case scenario, Sydney’s sea level could rise by 56 centimetres by 2090. But it is cities far from the coast that would suffer the worst heat. By 2090, their residents will have to live with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees for a third of the year, according to the study.

The authorities are trying to find solutions so that these cities can live as well as possible “future proof”. These include providing shelters for people to seek refuge in if temperatures rise sharply, and ensuring hospitals have the resources to treat heat-related illnesses. According to national health data, heat was responsible for 7,104 hospitalisations and 293 deaths in Australia between 2012 and 2022.