Heat health – extreme heat and heatwaves
Heat kills more Australians than any other natural disaster. Extreme heat can affect anybody and can lead to the life-threatening condition, heatstroke.
Health Protection
Environmental public health
Environmental public health involves the ways in which the environment can impact people’s health.
Environmental public health works to assess and control the aspects of human health determined by physical, chemical, biological and social factors in the environment such as weather events, airborne dust, contaminated land, noise and waste.
Impacts of the environment on human health
Thunderstorm asthma
Thunderstorm asthma is thought to be triggered by a unique combination of high amounts of grass pollen in the air and a certain type of thunderstorm. For people who have asthma or hay fever this can trigger severe asthma symptoms.