WELLINGTON, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand recorded its third-warmest winter on record in 2026, with a nationwide average temperature of 9.7 degrees Celsius, Earth Sciences New Zealand said Friday.
The temperature was 1.1 degrees Celsius above the 1991-2020 winter average, making it the third-warmest winter since the country's seven-station temperature series began in 1909, the agency said in a statement.
Exceptional warmth in June and a relatively warm winter throughout the South Island were the dominant features of the country's overall seasonal temperature, while temperatures were near average in parts of Northland, Auckland, Waikato, eastern Bay of Plenty and Gisborne on the North Island, it said.
Winter rainfall was above or well above normal in Southland, Otago, southern and inland Canterbury and the West Coast on the South Island, while large parts of the North Island recorded below-normal rainfall, the agency said.
Impactful heavy rainfall from July 5 to July 9 affected eastern parts of the country, with three local states of emergency declared, it noted.
The highest winter temperature was 26 degrees Celsius on June 20 at Bromley in Christchurch, the South Island's largest city. It was the country's second-highest winter temperature on record. The lowest was minus 13.5 degrees Celsius at Lake Tekapo on July 12.
El Niño conditions in the tropical Pacific strengthened considerably from mid-winter onward, the agency said, adding that sea surface temperatures around New Zealand were mostly near or above average, with marine heatwave conditions experienced around much of the South Island and Tasman Sea during July and August.
Scientists said El Niño typically brings stronger, more frequent southwesterly to northwesterly winds, resulting in drier conditions in eastern and northern areas of both islands and wetter conditions in the western and lower South Island. ■
