Australians are more likely to die in extra cold winters than unusually hot summers, new research has found.

The study by researchers from the Queensland University of Technology found death rates in Australian cities were up to 30 per cent higher in winter than in summer.

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Lead researcher Adrian Barnett said the number of excess deaths in Scandinavian countries, which have much colder winters than Australia, is much lower.

“If you go to countries like Norway, indoor temperatures are always a minimum of 21 degrees no matter what the outdoor temperature is like because they have good houses, good clothes and good heating,” Associate Professor Barnett said.

It would appear that Brisbanites are particularly ill-equipped to deal with colder-than-normal winters compared to those living in other major Australian cities.

They analysed temperature, humidity and mortality data from 1988 to 2009 in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne.

“In Brisbane we’ve done studies where we put temperature monitors in people’s homes and very often it got below 18 degrees and that’s where it starts to get dangerous,” Mr Barnett said.

Brisbane, the city enjoying the warmest climate, had the strongest increase in winter deaths, with an extra 59 deaths a month on average for a one degree decrease in mean winter temperature.

Assoc Prof Barnett says even though temperatures in Australia aren’t extreme, we are exposed to a massive range of temperatures.

“Clearly the fact that people don’t die in the cold in Norway shows that these deaths are preventable if we keep our indoor temperatures warm.”

– with AAP