Abstract
Exposure to extreme heat is a familiar seasonal experience for many rural communities across Australia, which is projected to increase in frequency and intensity with climate change. This has wide-ranging implications for community health and well-being, livelihoods, recreation, and the natural and built environments. In this study, we have examined how rural and remote communities in South Australia experience and respond to extreme heat, and how this is influenced by physical, social and psychological aspects of place. Interviews with participants across different climatic regions of South Australia were analysed using a broad thematic framework that included physical aspects of place, human activities, social and community aspects, and relationships with place; providing a descriptive account of heat impacts and responses. We further suggest that some narratives expressed the construction of a rural or remote identity, with climate being a part of this relationship; suggesting that place identity may be a subjective aspect underpinning appraisals of extreme heat. We discuss the implications for adaptation choices in a warming climate.
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Acknowledgments
In addition to funding support from the Australian Research Council (Discovery Project DP120101983 to Peng Bi), the authors would like to acknowledge the support of all the participants who contributed their time and views for this research.
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Ethics approval for the study was granted by the University of Adelaide Human Research Ethics Committee (No. H-2012-026). All participants in this research provided their informed consent.
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Williams, S., Hanson-Easey, S., Robinson, G. et al. Heat adaptation and place: experiences in South Australian rural communities. Reg Environ Change 17, 273–283 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1011-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-016-1011-6