Hot days are getting more common, and cold days rarer

Posted 20 months ago by Patrick Hipgrave Less than a minute to read

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.