A burning sun and a half-metre swell are all it takes for Sydneysiders to flock to the beach, and this summer has been no different.
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Despite the season beginning with an unusually high number of thunderstorms, all reports are suggesting a sunny change will kick off the new year.
"Normally, the average for the whole of summer is around eight or nine thunderstorms," Ben McBurney, of Weatherzone, said.
"So far we've already had 10 and it's still December. But we're heading into a phase where thunderstorm frequency is set to drop off."
Water temperatures have been slowly on the increase, from about 21 to 23 degrees, accounting for the increase in beachgoers.
But where there is blessing, there is always a curse.
"Everyone is kind of singing the usual lament; there has just been no waves and too many crowds," surfer and Coastalwatch chief forecaster Ben Macartney said.
"If the sun is out and it's one to two feet, it's very busy. It's not unusual to get one big swell around the Christmas and new year period but we haven't really seen one so far; they just don't happen that often."
Mr Macartney said the number of surfers at Bondi in summer was "staggering".
Traditionally, November and December have swells up to one metre, with bigger waves usually arriving by February.
The warmer weather has brought with it busier days for the nearly 22,000 active NSW Surf Life Savers patrol members, who have reported an increase in the number of rescues since last year.
In the period up to December 31 last year, there were 1447 rescues throughout NSW. This year, in the period up to December 23, there have been 1700 rescues.
The higher number of rescues suggests more people are using the beach; however, the drowning trend is decreasing year on year.
"So, while more are using the beach they are being safer," a NSW Surf Life Savers spokesman said.