Abstract
Extreme heat is associated with increased mortality and high health service demands. Despite a substantial body of heat-health research in Australia, there is limited evidence on hot weather-specific impacts on First Nations people living in remote communities. Here we used one-on-one yarning sessions, a First Nations form of knowledge sharing, with 30 participants (n = 30) to explore factors influencing vulnerability and resilience to hot weather in four remote First Nations communities of Central Australia. Using purposive and snowball sampling, participants were recruited to document lived experiences of extreme heat and related adaptive practices. A deductive coding approach aligned with a vulnerability-resilience framework was applied to the data. Participants described how hot weather affected their physical and mental health, daily activities, sleep, and cultural practices. Participants highlighted increased risks associated with hot weather for children, older people, women, and people with pre-existing medical conditions or disabilities. Although participants reported using a range of cooling strategies, including air conditioning, shifting activities to cooler parts of the day, resting under shade trees, and swimming in nearby waterholes, the effectiveness of these strategies was constrained by key vulnerabilities that increased heat-related health risks. These vulnerabilities were primarily linked to poor housing and energy insecurity that affected indoor thermal comfort, limited shaded outdoor areas or heat refuges, and certain cooling practices, such as consumption of sugar-containing cold beverages. Our findings indicate that investments in local infrastructure, reinforcement of adaptive knowledge, and co-produced knowledge strategies are essential for climate-resilient remote communities.
Data availability
The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available due to ethics approval conditions and consent provided by research participants. However, the datasets may be obtained from the corresponding author on reasonable request if ethics approval is obtained.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank all First Nations participants from the four remote study communities in Central Australia for their valuable input into this study. The ownership of any First Nations knowledge collected during the project is retained by the participants. We also acknowledge the local First Nations cultural navigators and staff at the local councils, art centers, clinics, aged care centers, and stores for the support provided to conduct this study. We would also like to thank the two local partner health services, the Northern Territory Department of Health and Central Australian Aboriginal Congress, who have shared their valuable insights towards the conduct of this project.Funding for this project was received through the Medical Research Future Fund Indigenous Health grant (MRF2017922) and the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, which receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC’s) Special Initiative in Human Health and Environmental Change (SIHHEC; Grant No. 2008937).
Funding
Funding for this project was received through the Medical Research Future Fund Indigenous Health grant (MRF2017922) and the Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) National Research Network, which receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council’s (NHMRC’s) Special Initiative in Human Health and Environmental Change (SIHHEC; Grant No. 2008937).
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Supriya Mathew designed and led the funding acquisition for the study with support from Deb Russell, Sophie Pascoe, Mohammad Radwanur Talukder, Vahab Baghbanian, Linda Ford, Alan Cass and John Wakerman. Manoj Bhatta led the data collection along with Gloria Baliva. Manoj Bhatta also analysed the data and wrote the first draft of the paper. All authors reviewed, edited, and gave final approval for the manuscript.
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Bhatta, M., Baliva, G., Pascoe, S. et al. Exploring adaptive capacity to arid heat in remote First Nations communities in Central Australia. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40677-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-40677-2
