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corching temperatures across Australia have reignited calls to ban black and dark-colored roofs due to their significant contribution to the urban heat island effect. This phenomenon occurs when certain areas experience higher temperatures than surrounding regions, leading to slower cooling at night.

    Experts warn that as the climate warms, this issue will worsen. The Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO have predicted increased hotter temperatures and decreased rainfall in the coming decades. Australia's warmest year on record was 2019, with eight of the nine warmest years occurring since 2013.

    Janine Strachan, chief executive of the Insulation Council of Australia and New Zealand (ICANZ), believes the latest climate report should be a wake-up call for governments and industry to prioritize thermal efficiency standards. She advocates for an "outright ban" on dark roofs, which she sees as a necessary step in building more resilient homes.

    South Australia has taken action by eliminating dark roofs from future stages of the Playford Alive development in Adelaide's northern suburbs. A report found that light-colored roofs were 4.3C cooler than dark-roofed homes on average days. Urban planning expert Professor Sebastian Pfautsch has led calls for state governments to ban dark roofs, citing the risks they pose during heatwaves.

    The National Construction Code requires new Australian houses and apartments to meet a minimum energy efficiency rating of seven stars under the Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS). However, South Australia and Tasmania have frozen changes to the code for 10 years due to pressure from the construction lobby. The Coalition has also committed to a 10-year freeze on national building codes.

    Industry groups dispute claims that increasing minimum energy efficiency standards would add significant costs to new homes. Janine Strachan argues that outdated climate data used in the NatHERS system leads to perverse ratings outcomes, motivating builders to use dark-colored roofs despite their negative impact on urban heat island effect.