Despite the ACT recording one of the hottest summers in history this year, the number of people admitted to Canberra's hospitals with heat-related causes has remained stable.
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Between December and February, 137 residents were admitted to the emergency department suffering from either heatstroke, severe sunburn or dehydration, the same number as the previous summer.
During the past summer, there were 68 heat-related cases at Canberra Hospital while Calvary Public Hospital had 69 by comparison.
The 2017-18 summer was Canberra's 10th hottest on record, with the temperature averaging 21.6 degrees, or 1.8 degrees above average, while nationally it was the fifth hottest since records began.
While the average temperature in Canberra has been rising recently, the number of heat-related cases presented have largely remained stable since 2012-13, when there were 121 cases.
The only large drop took place during 2014-15, where the number of cases almost halved from the previous year down to 68.
An ACT Health spokesman said despite the number of heat-related cases at emergency, there were no extreme heat events in Canberra this summer.
"In the ACT, an extreme heat event is defined as a mean temperature of 28 degrees, which lasts for three or more consecutive days," the spokesman said.
"ACT Health monitors weather forecasts throughout summer and can issue health alerts during extreme heat events."
Cancer Council ACT chief executive Sandra Turner said it's reassuring that severe sunburn cases in hospital have remained stable, despite the increase in temperature.
"It's good to see that figure hasn't increased, and that hopefully indicates that people in the sun are taking care of themselves," she said.
"Fortunately this summer while it was a hot summer, there wasn't long periods of extreme heat."
Ms Turner said while extremely hot days posed a risk for sunburn so too do days with high UV factors.
A recent national Cancer Council survey found just one in 10 Australians knew that sunscreen had to be applied for proper protection when the UV factor is three or higher.
"People are still at risk of sunburn even on cloudier days or when it's cooler weather," Ms Turner said.
"Many Australians are confused as to what factors cause sunburn."
The health spokesman said not all cases presented to hospitals were as a result of extreme heat, and called for Canberrans to watch out for potential symptoms.
"Not all heat-related injuries and illnesses result in hospitalisation. Symptoms of heat-related stress may include headaches, dizziness, faintness, nausea and vomiting," he said.
"There are simple preventative measures that can significantly help reduce the chance of heat-related stress, including drinking plenty of fluids, staying in a cool environment and reducing physical activity."
