Canberra gets pretty freezing in winter, which is why lots of people (including me) plan holidays to warmer places then. But those jetting off to a European or Asian summer holiday this year were in for a rude shock. Extreme heat, fuelled by climate change, is sucking the joy out of summer for everyone, everywhere.

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Summer used to be a time for Australians getting out into nature, heading to the beach, going camping, hiking or fishing, but extreme temperatures and weather are increasingly making these leisure activities deeply unpleasant, if not dangerous. And while extreme heat obviously affects the quality of life for locals, it's also having an impact on the tourism industry both here and overseas.

New research from Charles Darwin University shows extreme heat is altering when, where and how we travel. It found one-fifth of Australians surveyed had changed their most recent holiday because of weather, including 8 per cent who had been affected by fires, floods or storms, 6 per cent who had been affected by heavy rain, and 6 per cent due to impending hot weather.

"On top of this, a third of those surveyed had decided against going to holiday destinations they considered too hot, such as Dubai or northern Australia. We understand this represents the first empirical evidence that Australians are altering their travel patterns due to heat," said the researchers.

I have just personally experienced this, being fortunate enough to have returned from my first holiday to Japan. Unfortunately, I escaped Canberra's harsh winter only to experience Japan's "Cruel Summer", a string of what the Japanese dubbed "kokushobi" or "cruelly hot days".

While I was there Japan endured a string of 40 degree-plus heat, with something like 90 per cent humidity. It was truly awful.

The heat was so hostile, I ditched my plans to hike the Nakasendo Trail because I was........

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