Alam, T,Younus, M,Lo, Alex,Pearson, Leonie,Evans, M,2015-05-192015-05-192014Opportunities for the Critical Decade: Enhancing well-being within Planetary Boundaries. Australia New Zealand Society for Ecological Economics 2013 Conference Proceedings, 2014 / Lo, Alex, , Pearson, Leonie, , Evans, M, (ed./s), pp.40-629781740883986http://hdl.handle.net/2440/91161Extreme heat is already a threat to South Australians – especially to culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) migrants who are overseas born and brought up. The IPCC and other Australian and international research evidences have predicted more frequent hot extremes in Southern Australia that could pose a serious health risk for the disadvantaged minority communities because of demographic, economic and socio-cultural factors. In this context, some CALD migrants (e.g. Bangladeshi, Bhutanese and Sudanese) are thought to be vulnerable to heat due to their previous demographic, social and cultural orientations. To reduce vulnerability and increase adaptive response capacity, it is important to study behaviours and responses of the CALD communities to heatwave. This paper focuses on their efforts to adapt to hostile climate. The key aim of the study is to appreciate response enablers and barriers of CALD migrants to extreme heat. A preliminary qualitative study was conducted with CALD migrants in the City of Port Adelaide Enfield area involving one focus group discussion and two interviews including seven participants from three different communities. Using thematic analysis, the key barriers of CALD communities to heatwave are identified as lack of English proficiency, acclimatisation, power costs, poor quality housing, and lack of heat-friendly housing whereas the enablers are marked as their individual adaptive capacity and strong community networks. These early findings suggest introducing heatwave financial support and adopting heat-friendly culturally appropriate sustainable housing projects for the low-income members would assist in adaptation to heatwaves. It would be beneficial to continue this preliminary case study with additional interviewees to develop a multilingual heat-health warning system, and design a heatwave awareness programme.enheat; CALD communities; vulnerability; climate change; response and barriers; City of Port Adelaide EnfieldConference paper0030028738185918