General News
17 February, 2026
Shade cools all down
URBAN shading was highlighted during Extreme Heat Awareness Day on the Cairns Esplanade last Saturday.
Cairns and Far North Environment Centre (CAFNEC) community campaigner Alex Benavides said the rain held off enough to attract a good number of people (more than 130 people) throughout the day wanting to learn about the impacts of extreme heat, how to stay safe and how to build community resilience.
“We had quite a lot of people interested in Tree Action, people really gravitated towards that,” Ms Benavides said.
The group works to prevent the removal of urban shade trees and improve local government vegetation management.
Also popular was CRC’s heat mapping which was being conducted with a JCU PhD student.
“The GIS mapping of heat in Cairns urban areas shows the less canopy cover, the more heat is created,” Ms Benavides said.
The research would help council reach a 50% canopy target which was “very good” she said.
The day was part of the national campaign by Sweltering Cities, an organisation concerned about increasing extreme heat events and over-development in cities.
It’s new summer survey 2025/26 about heat, health and homes is at www.bit.ly/4avVHGa
