Welcome to the Sydney Steam Room: Why Your City is Moulding Over

If I hear the word "unseasonal" one more time, I’m going to scream. Or melt. Probably both.

It is February 18, 2026. You are likely reading this while peeling your shirt off your back, or perhaps you’re staring at a patch of black mould on your ceiling that wasn’t there last week. The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) tells us there’s a "chance of rain" and humidity is hovering around 73%, but let’s be honest: it feels like we’re living inside a dishwasher on the 'Heavy Duty' cycle.

We need to stop pretending this is a fluke. The "Historic Heatwave" of January, where Penrith hit 42°C and the CBD felt like a sauna, wasn't an anomaly. It was a trailer for the main feature.

The "Tropicalisation" Delusion

Here is the uncomfortable truth that property developers and city planners seem determined to ignore: Sydney is becoming Singapore, but with worse public transport and no air-conditioning in the train stations.

We are witnessing the rapid "tropicalisation" of our temperate climate. The dew point—that unsexy number that actually dictates how miserable you feel—has been consistently charting in the "oppressive" range (above 20°C) for weeks. Yet, we continue to build black-roofed suburbs in the West and unventilated glass boxes in the East.

Look at the numbers. We aren't just getting hotter; we are getting wetter and hotter.

The Infrastructure Betrayal

Why does the train network collapse the moment a drop of warm rain falls? Because our steel tracks and overhead wiring were calibrated for a dry, scorching sun—not this pervasive, rotting dampness. When you combine high heat with high moisture, materials behave differently. They don't just expand; they degrade.

And let’s talk about housing. (Yes, again). If you are renting in a unit built in the last ten years, you are likely fighting a losing battle against condensation. We built hermetically sealed energy-efficient boxes intended to keep heat in during winter. In this new subtropical reality, those same boxes trap moisture, turning living rooms into Petri dishes.

"We are effectively building greenhouses in a climate that is rapidly becoming a jungle. It is architectural malpractice."

The Western Sydney Kiln

The disparity is becoming criminal. While the Eastern Suburbs complain about frizzy hair, Western Sydney is baking in a 'wet bulb' nightmare. The lack of tree canopy in new developments like the defect-riddled towers of the mid-2020s means there is nowhere for the heat to go. It stays trapped in the concrete, radiating out all night, preventing the city from cooling down.

So, what’s the plan? More air-conditioning? That just pumps more hot air into the streets, feeding the feedback loop.

The Summer of '26 isn't a warning. It's a receipt for decades of lazy planning. You might want to invest in a dehumidifier—if you can find one in stock.