Average temperatures for the month were 2C higher than normal, with 24 separate locations hitting their own records
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View of Auckland skyline from Waiheke Island as the sun sets. New
Zealand has recorded its hottest June since records began 110 years
ago. Photograph: Kerry Kissane/Getty Images
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That makes this June New Zealand’s warmest since NIWA’s seven station temperature series began in 1909.
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It was particularly warm in Motueka, near the top of the South Island, where the mean temperature of 10.8C was 3.2C higher than the town’s 1981-2010 average.
Of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest and sunniest, Tauranga was the wettest, Christchurch was the coldest and driest, and Dunedin was the least sunny.
The highest temperature recorded was in Hastings, in the Hawke’s Bay, and Leigh, north of Auckland, both reaching 22C on different days of the month.
The 2C average increase is “a massive shift” relative to normal, climate scientist Gregor Macara said, adding that the previous June record was an average 1.64C higher than usual.
NIWA puts the increase in temperatures down to above-normal sea level air pressure to the east of the country, and climate change.
“North-easterlies are dragging air masses from the sub-tropics, so they are relatively warm. The fact we were having more north-easterlies than normal delivered warmer air over the country than we would typically see in June.”
Sea surface temperatures were also warmer than normal and could be a contributing factor.
“Because we are an island nation, our climate is characterised as maritime, which means it is influenced by the sea. The warmer-than-normal sea surfaces helped to sustain the warmer-than-normal air temperatures,” Macara said.
Underpinning all of this was climate change, he said.
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In the past 100 years,
New Zealand’s temperature has increased by 1C, which is contributing to the overall
warmer temperatures, Macara said.
If warmer winter months persist in the years to come, that could spell trouble
for the country’s ski-fields and agricultural sector.
“It will pose increasing challenges on the ski-industry because it will be
more marginal to operate earlier in the season with the lack of snowfall, or
with temperatures that are too warm to enable artificial snow to be made.”
Earlier in June, two of the country’s most popular skiing destinations –
Queenstown’s Coronet Peak and Wanaka’s Cardrona Alpine Ski Resort – had to
delay their openings due to the warm weather and lack of snowfall.
Agricultural industries that rely on frosts would also suffer, he said, but
added the warmer weather could provide opportunities for re-orienting the
sector towards crops that do well in warmer climates.
NIWA forecasters predict a continuation of warm weather throughout the
remaining winter months.
Links
- New Zealand records seventh-hottest year, with extreme weather more likely
- New Zealand lawyers sue climate change body over alleged failure to meet targets
- ‘We need to become the solution’: older New Zealanders join climate change fight
- New Zealand minister calls for finance sector to disclose climate crisis risks in world first
- New Zealand experiences warmest winter on record (2020)
- New Zealand schools to teach students about climate crisis, activism and 'eco anxiety'
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