As summer heat and bushfire seasons intensify, Aussies may need to be better prepared for their getaways

Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick discusses how January temperatures in the Shire are changing. Plus, how is bushfire risk impacting our holidays, and how can we be better prepared?

Aussies flock to nature over the summer holidays.

With warm waters, blue skies and longer days, there's nothing better than a classic camping adventure with friends and family.

However, rising temperatures and more frequent bushfires could be jeopardising our holiday season.

Data from the Bureau of Meteorology reveals warming summer temperatures across the Shire and the rest of the state.

Indeed, our typical hottest January day is 39.8C, 4.8C warmer than it was just 50 years ago.

What will this mean for our holidays?

Rising temperatures cause longer and more frequent heatwaves, while also intensifying catastrophic bushfire conditions.

By 2050, the number of 'very high' or 'extreme' fire days in Australia could increase by up to 70 per cent.

This puts campers, tourism operators, and firefighters at increased risk.

Holidaymakers may spend their well-earned time away on edge, businesses could face uncertainty due to drops in tourism, and firefighters may have to focus on mass evacuations rather than on stemming fires.

It has prompted scientists like David Bowman to call for a rearrangement of Australia's holiday calendar to avoid putting lives in danger.

Suggestions include shifting our traditional summer holidays to late March and early April to make the most of milder conditions.

This is just one of many forms of adaptations essential to living with climate change and its impacts.

While there is an upfront cost, such a change could pay dividends in saving lives, supporting industries impacted by climate disasters, and effectively managing crises.

So, when planning your next trip, be sure to research the bushfire risk of your holiday destination, monitor weather forecasts, and note down bushfire information phone numbers.

Hear from your community:

Want more information on how your climate is changing? Check out the last article in this series.

Dr Sarah Perkins-Kirkpatrick is a climate scientist at the University of New South Wales.

This column is part of a collaboration between Monash University and News Corp to deliver hyperlocal weather and climate information.