Australia is known for its stinking hot summers and iconic beaches, but not everyone lives close to the beach or has access to air conditioning.
We wanted to find out the LGA’s where people are experiencing the sweatiest summers in Australia based on seven different factors; population density, temperature, humidity, wind, shade tree canopy, cost to run air conditioning and the distance to the closest body of water. We weighted the scores and then gave each LGA a score out of 100, the higher the score the hotter the area is.
It’s no surprise that Darwin comes out on top with an average heat score of 78.15/100. Darwin is pushed to the top due to having the highest average summer temperature (28.3°C) and the highest humidity at 19.2g of water vapour present in the air relative to the weight of dry air. This extremely high humidity can cause issues that require repairs with your air conditioning unit, so regular maintenance and cleaning is important for prevention.
Queensland LGAs take second to twelfth place, but interestingly Mackay has a higher heat score than Townsville, despite being located south of Townsville. Although Mackay has a lower average temperature (26.4°C) than Townsville (27.8°C), it has a lower population density meaning less crowds and busyness in the heat, and is much closer to a body of water to cool down in.
Similarly, Cairns ranks sixth overall despite being in far north Queensland. Cairns ranks lower because of its good source of shade provided by the dense tree cover of the Daintree Rainforest. Cairns also has a low population density and its region is in close proximity to a major body of water.
For obvious reasons, Hobart experiences the coolest summers in the nation, with an overall heat score of only 10.65/100. Hobart has the lowest average summer temperature of only 16.5°C and decent tree cover. Tasmania also boasts the third cheapest cost of cooling at only $0.33 per hour, only beaten by Victoria and the ACT.
Surprisingly, Bendigo beats Launceston by almost 3 points due to its low cost of cooling, lower population density, lower humidity and better average wind speeds. Victoria boasts the cheapest cost of cooling at only $0.29 per hour, $1.28 cheaper than the most expensive state, New South Wales.
Tasmania and Victoria dominate the coolest summer regions due to being located in far-south Australia.
“Our research discovered that while location certainly holds a major role in how hot and ‘sweaty’ a city is, the hot Australian summer isn’t as simple as that. Humidity, wind speeds, tree shade and proximity to water are factors that can contribute to heat and cooling down that are often forgotten.
“Our study also revealed the increased air conditioning costs due to the increased cost of living. Despite these high costs, there are strategies that can save you money in the long run. To avoid the high costs of cooling and to avoid the heat, Australians should pre-cool their house, ensure they have the right cooling system for their home, set air conditioners to an economical temperature, only use the air conditioning when at home and check their systems energy rating.”
We ranked the 80 most populated Local Government Areas (LGAs)** to analyse where the sweatiest places in the country are using 7 key metrics that either contribute to that often uncomfortable summer sensation or help to ease the level of perspiration. These are listed below with their corresponding weights. The metrics were combined to create a 100-point scale, with a score of 100 representing the maximum level of sweatiness.
Heating (60 points):
Cooling (40 Points):
Population Density data is sourced from the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Regional Population for the 2022-23 financial year.
Temperature, humidity and wind averages for LGA’s are based on the data for its corresponding climate zone according to The Australian Government Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW) accessed via the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) Climate Zone Map. Some LGA’s are split between two climate zones, in which case, the zone that covers the majority of the LGA is allocated.
For best comparison of LGAs across states, 2020 urban forest cover data from the “Where Will Trees Be? Report” by Greener Spaces Better Places was utilised. This covers only the LGA’s that lie within the greater capital cities. LGA’s outside of this are given approximate percentages based on publicly available data.
Please note that statewide numbers have been used for cooling costs, using calculations from Finder, using hourly charges based on state average usage rates.
Bodies of water were identified based on their proximity to LGA boundaries. Measurements are approximate straight-line distances from the LGA centre to the nearest entry point of the major body of water (e.g., river, bay, or ocean) and are based on publicly available mapping tools like Google Maps, Geoscience Australia, and local geographic data. The distances are estimates only and may vary slightly depending on specific point measurements.
The information on this page is intended as a general guide or indicator only and should not be taken as constituting professional advice.
* December to February inclusive.
** As ACT is not assigned to an LGA, whole territory figures have been used. Darwin, Launceston and Hobart are not in the 80 most populated LGA’s, however, they were included for representation of NT and TAS.
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