It feels like Australia is in a never-ending cycle of climate-related disasters. In December 2023 alone we saw flooding inundate Northern Queensland, bushfires blaze through north-west New South Wales, and forecasts of thunderstorms and bushfires put South Australian residents on alert.
Extreme weather and climate events are becoming more frequent and intense in Australia. So much so that in 2020 Australia was in the top ten regions globally for economic losses resulting from climate-related disasters.
The risk of harm from climate change and extreme weather events is not just a function of the intensity of the hazard or exposure. Communities and their residents have characteristics that make them either more susceptible or more resilient.
This is why we created a new Social Vulnerability Index – to describe the nature of the social vulnerability some communities face in preparing for climate change in Australia.
This can be used with climate hazard maps to identify areas most at risk of health harms.
Understanding a community’s vulnerabilities and capacity to adapt is critical for adaptation planning and building the resilience of communities. The most recent assessment report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that the inability to identify social vulnerability at a local and urban level is a critical barrier to climate adaptation planning.
Our Index is designed to help communities, emergency response planners and public health officials identify strategies that best support communities before, during and after climate and weather disaster events.
For example, is a community’s population older than average for Australia and therefore requires specific forms of support? Are more people in the community employed in occupations which would be directly affected by climate-related disasters? Do people have access to the vehicles, communication facilities and health services that support them through disasters?
This information can be used to create targeted adaptation plans and efforts to increase climate resilience.
Our index is based on international evidence. We first conducted a large scoping review of social vulnerability indicators linked to the health impact of climate change and extreme weather events like heatwaves, heavy rains, storms and bushfires.
We focused on 230 studies covering 15 themes – having assessed 2,115 articles in total. We identified 113 indicators of social vulnerability to the health effects of climate change.
Our team selected indicators from this set with good data to generate an Australian index of social vulnerability by area (using Australian Bureau of Statistics – Statistical Area Level 2).
