Pilbara police brace for rise in crime as WA swelters through hot weather

The mercury is soaring in WA's Pilbara region and authorities are warning it could get even hotter over the summer months.

Meanwhile, police and support services in the region are preparing for a rise in crime and violence as the heat increases. 

Marble Bar, almost 1,500 kilometres north of Perth, has been the hottest town in the Pilbara this month, with the temperature peaking above 42 degrees Celsius every day so far in November. 

The daily maximum has reached at least 44C on eight days, earning the town its self-appointed title of Australia's Hottest Town. 

Risk of violence may increase with heat, police warn

Police and community support services are warning that as the temperature rises, so too do reports of violence.

Acting officer-in-charge at Karratha Police Senior Sergeant Uwais Cuff said local police would focus on "alcohol-fuelled offending, whether it's assaults or damages".

"We'll be increasing our road traffic strategies as well, but mainly targeting alcohol offending around nightclubs and things like that.

"Everyone sort of leaves town over Christmas, and that's when we see crime increase."

Pilbara Community Legal Service (PCLS) advocate Sarah Makeham said December was a "crisis period for family and domestic violence".

"There are some key times throughout the year that we can basically set our watch to," she said.

"Because it's hot, people tend to spend more time indoors with each other. People tend to drink more because of the festivities."

Ms Makeham said financial stresses around the Christmas period combined with a change in behaviour made it a "more dangerous period".

Temperatures higher earlier 

Wendy McWhirter-Brooks lives on a station just outside Marble Bar and spends time teaching at the local school.

She encouraged parents to keep a close eye on children as temperatures soared.

"They still want to play basketball in recess and the lunchtime breaks. They're really keen to get out there and run around," Ms McWhirter-Brooks said.

"But boy, oh boy, it's hot on those verandahs. Thank goodness for air conditioning."

She said the ground was "super hot", and parents needed to ensure children wore shoes to protect their feet.

Duty forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology Bob Tarr said the weather patterns in the Pilbara matched the standard summer patterns but were building in temperature "a bit earlier than usual".

Mr Tarr said the average daily maximums across the region were higher than normal for November.

"Being above the mean is pretty typical these days," he said.

"Because of long-term climate change, we're generally running about 1.5 degrees on average above the long-term mean."

The ABC compiled this table using data provided by the BOM:

Mr Tarr said while high daily maximums were concerning, more worrying was the higher-than-average daily minimums.

"For some locations in October, the night-time temperatures were up about 4 or 5 degrees above normal," he said.

He said if the current modelling persisted, north-west residents could be in for a hotter-than-average summer.