Hot days are getting more common, and cold days rarer

We've updated our 'Days with extreme temperatures' factsheet, which days with hot days (days with maximum temperatures over 25°C) and cold days (where minimum temperatures were below 0°C). Here are the key findings:

  • Following the end of the Climate Normal Period (1981–2010), nearly every year has had more than the average number of hot days and fewer than average cold days.
  • New Zealand experienced an average of 33.1 hot days, where maximum temperatures exceeded 25°C, and 16.1 cold days, where minimum temperatures were below 0°C, in 2022.
  • In 2022, hot days were most common in Territorial Authorities (TAs) in the north and east of the North Island.
  • In 2022, cold days were most common in the southern and central South Island, and also the central North Island.
  • Higher concentrations of vulnerable populations live in areas prone to hot days, particularly Māori, young children and people living in higher levels of deprivation.

Read the factsheet here