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From 27 January to 8 February during the summer of 2009, southern Australia experienced one of the nation‘s most severe heatwaves. Governments, councils, utilities, hospitals and emergency response organisations and the community were largely underprepared for an extreme event of this magnitude. This case study targets the experience and challenges faced by decision makers and policy makers and focuses on the major metropolitan areas affected by the heatwave — Melbourne and Adelaide. The study examines the 2009 heatwave‘s characteristics; its impacts (on human health, infrastructure and human services); the degree of adaptive capacity (vulnerability and resilience) of various sectors, communities and individuals; and the reactive responses of government and emergency and associated services and their effectiveness. Barriers and challenges to adaptation and increasing resilience are also identified and further areas for research are suggested. This study does not include details of the heatwave‘s effects beyond Victoria and South Australia, or its economic impacts, or of Victoria‘s 'Black Saturday‘ bushfires.

From 27 January to 8 February during the summer of 2009, southern Australia experienced one of the nation's most severe heatwaves. Governments, councils, utilities, hospitals and emergency response organisations and the community were largely underprepared for an extreme event of this magnitude. This case study, 'Impacts and adaptation response of infrastructure and communities to heatwaves: the southern Australian experience of 2009' was funded by The National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility (NCCARF) under its Synthesis and Integrative Research Program. The study targets the experience and challenges faced by decision makers and policy makers and focuses on the major metropolitan areas affected by the heatwave — Melbourne and Adelaide. This work resulted from collaboration between researchers from Risk Frontiers (at Macquarie University), Monash University, RMIT University and the University of Southern Queensland and was coordinated by the Institute for Sustainable Resources, Queensland University of Technology. Broadly, the study examines the 2009 heatwave's characteristics; its impacts (on human health, infrastructure and human services); the degree of adaptive capacity (vulnerability and resilience) of various sectors, communities and individuals; and the reactive responses of government and emergency and associated services and their effectiveness. Barriers and challenges to adaptation and increasing resilience are also identified and further areas for research are suggested. This study does not include details of the heatwave's effects beyond Victoria and South Australia, or its economic impacts, or of Victoria's 'Black Saturday' bushfires in 2009. Meteorological and climate characteristics Key message : Compared to the 100–150 years of historical observations, the 2009 heatwave in southern Australia was exceptional — producing severe, extensive and prolonged heat exposure. It was a major and unexpected heatwave in both Australian and internationa