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April Weather in Christchurch New Zealand

Daily high temperatures decrease by 5°F, from 65°F to 60°F, rarely falling below 53°F or exceeding 74°F.

Daily low temperatures decrease by 4°F, from 49°F to 45°F, rarely falling below 37°F or exceeding 56°F.

For reference, on January 17, the hottest day of the year, temperatures in Christchurch typically range from 55°F to 71°F, while on June 30, the coldest day of the year, they range from 37°F to 51°F.

Average High and Low Temperature in April in Christchurch

Average High and Low Temperature in April in ChristchurchApr11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303030°F30°F35°F35°F40°F40°F45°F45°F50°F50°F55°F55°F60°F60°F65°F65°F70°F70°F75°F75°F80°F80°FMarMayApr 165°FApr 165°F49°F49°FApr 3060°FApr 3060°F45°F45°FApr 1163°FApr 1163°F48°F48°FApr 2161°FApr 2161°F46°F46°FNowNow
The daily average high (red line) and low (blue line) temperature, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted lines are the corresponding average perceived temperatures.

The figure below shows you a compact characterization of the hourly average temperatures for the quarter of the year centered on April. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the color is the average temperature for that hour and day.

Average Hourly Temperature in April in Christchurch

Average Hourly Temperature in April in ChristchurchApr11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303012 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMMarMayNowNowvery coldcoldcool
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The average hourly temperature, color coded into bands. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.

Tillamook, Oregon, United States (7,285 miles away); La Ensenada, Chile (5,327 miles); and As Pontes de García Rodríguez, Spain (12,425 miles) are the far-away foreign places with temperatures most similar to Christchurch (view comparison).

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The month of April in Christchurch experiences gradually increasing cloud cover, with the percentage of time that the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy increasing from 41% to 45%.

The clearest day of the month is April 1, with clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy conditions 59% of the time.

For reference, on July 4, the cloudiest day of the year, the chance of overcast or mostly cloudy conditions is 49%, while on March 4, the clearest day of the year, the chance of clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy skies is 61%.

Cloud Cover Categories in April in Christchurch

Cloud Cover Categories in April in ChristchurchApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930300%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%MarMayApr 159%Apr 159%Apr 3055%Apr 3055%Apr 1156%Apr 1156%Apr 2156%Apr 2156%NowNowclearmostly clearpartly cloudymostly cloudyovercast
0% clear 20% mostly clear 40% partly cloudy 60% mostly cloudy 80% overcast 100%
The percentage of time spent in each cloud cover band, categorized by the percentage of the sky covered by clouds.

A wet day is one with at least 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation. In Christchurch, the chance of a wet day over the course of April is gradually increasing, starting the month at 22% and ending it at 25%.

For reference, the year's highest daily chance of a wet day is 32% on December 19, and its lowest chance is 22% on February 11.

Probability of Precipitation in April in Christchurch

The percentage of days in which various types of precipitation are observed, excluding trace quantities: rain alone, snow alone, and mixed (both rain and snow fell in the same day).

Rainfall

To show variation within the month and not just the monthly total, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day.

The average sliding 31-day rainfall during April in Christchurch is essentially constant, remaining about 1.9 inches throughout, and rarely exceeding 3.3 inches or falling below 0.7 inches.

The lowest average 31-day accumulation is 1.8 inches on April 1.

Average Monthly Rainfall in April in Christchurch

The average rainfall (solid line) accumulated over the course of a sliding 31-day period centered on the day in question, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands. The thin dotted line is the corresponding average snowfall.

Over the course of April in Christchurch, the length of the day is rapidly decreasing. From the start to the end of the month, the length of the day decreases by 1 hour, 21 minutes, implying an average daily decrease of 2 minutes, 47 seconds, and weekly decrease of 19 minutes, 29 seconds.

The shortest day of the month is April 30, with 10 hours, 13 minutes of daylight and the longest day is April 1, with 11 hours, 34 minutes of daylight.

Hours of Daylight and Twilight in April in Christchurch

The number of hours during which the Sun is visible (black line). From bottom (most yellow) to top (most gray), the color bands indicate: full daylight, twilight (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and full night.

The latest sunrise of the month in Christchurch is 7:52 AM on April 6 and the earliest sunrise is 59 minutes earlier at 6:53 AM on April 7.

The latest sunset is 7:19 PM on April 1 and the earliest sunset is 1 hour, 47 minutes earlier at 5:32 PM on April 30.

Daylight saving time (DST) starts at 2:00 AM on April 7, 2024, shifting sunrise and sunset to be an hour later.

For reference, on December 21, the longest day of the year, the Sun rises at 5:44 AM and sets 15 hours, 26 minutes later, at 9:10 PM, while on June 20, the shortest day of the year, it rises at 8:02 AM and sets 8 hours, 56 minutes later, at 4:59 PM.

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in April in Christchurch

Sunrise & Sunset with Twilight and Daylight Saving Time in April in ChristchurchApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930302 AM4 AM6 AM8 AM10 AM12 PM2 PM4 PM6 PM8 PM10 PM12 AMMarMay6:53 AM6:53 AMApr 76:09 PMApr 76:09 PM7:19 AM7:19 AMApr 305:32 PMApr 305:32 PMDSTApr 7DSTApr 7SolarMidnightSolarMidnightSolarNoonSunriseSunsetNowNow
The solar day over the course of April. From bottom to top, the black lines are the previous solar midnight, sunrise, solar noon, sunset, and the next solar midnight. The day, twilights (civil, nautical, and astronomical), and night are indicated by the color bands from yellow to gray. The transitions to and from daylight saving time are indicated by the 'DST' labels.

The figure below presents a compact representation of the sun's elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon) and azimuth (its compass bearing) for every hour of every day in the reporting period. The horizontal axis is the day of the year and the vertical axis is the hour of the day. For a given day and hour of that day, the background color indicates the azimuth of the sun at that moment. The black isolines are contours of constant solar elevation.

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in April in Christchurch

Solar Elevation and Azimuth in April in ChristchurchApr11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303012 AM12 AM2 AM2 AM4 AM4 AM6 AM6 AM8 AM8 AM10 AM10 AM12 PM12 PM2 PM2 PM4 PM4 PM6 PM6 PM8 PM8 PM10 PM10 PM12 AM12 AMMarMay00101020202030405000010102020303040NowNow
northeastsouthwest
Solar elevation and azimuth over the course of April 2024. The black lines are lines of constant solar elevation (the angle of the sun above the horizon, in degrees). The background color fills indicate the azimuth (the compass bearing) of the sun. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries of the cardinal compass points indicate the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for April 2024. The horizontal axis is the day, the vertical axis is the hour of the day, and the colored areas indicate when the moon is above the horizon. The vertical gray bars (new Moons) and blue bars (full Moons) indicate key Moon phases. The label associated with each bar indicates the date and time that the phase is obtained, and the companion time labels indicate the rise and set times of the Moon for the nearest time interval in which the moon is above the horizon.

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in April in Christchurch

Moon Rise, Set & Phases in April in ChristchurchApr11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303012 AM12 AM4 AM4 AM8 AM8 AM12 PM12 PM4 PM4 PM8 PM8 PM12 AM12 AMMarMayMar 1010:01 PMMar 1010:01 PMMar 258:01 PMMar 258:01 PMApr 96:22 AMApr 96:22 AMApr 2411:50 AMApr 2411:50 AMMay 83:23 PMMay 83:23 PMMay 241:54 AMMay 241:54 AM6:29 AM6:29 AM8:03 PM8:03 PM7:32 PM7:32 PM8:11 AM8:11 AM7:03 AM7:03 AM6:11 PM6:11 PM5:13 PM5:13 PM7:10 AM7:10 AM7:17 AM7:17 AM5:04 PM5:04 PM4:27 PM4:27 PM8:23 AM8:23 AMNowNow
The time in which the moon is above the horizon (light blue area), with new moons (dark gray lines) and full moons (blue lines) indicated. The shaded overlays indicate night and civil twilight.
Apr 2024IlluminationMoonriseMoonsetMoonriseMeridian PassingDistance
1
65%-2:48 PMSW10:58 PMSE6:25 AMN240,039 mi
2
50%-3:44 PMSW-7:22 AMN236,814 mi
3
43%12:03 AMSE4:31 PMSW-8:21 AMN233,432 mi
4
31%1:17 AMSE5:08 PMWSW-9:18 AMN230,109 mi
5
21%2:37 AMESE5:38 PMWSW-10:13 AMN227,120 mi
6
12%3:59 AMESE6:03 PMWSW-11:06 AMN224,764 mi
7
5%4:20 AME5:26 PMW-10:57 AMN223,326 mi
8
1%5:41 AME5:48 PMW-11:47 AMN223,015 mi
9
0%7:03 AME6:11 PMWNW-12:38 PMN223,917 mi
10
3%8:25 AMENE6:37 PMWNW-1:31 PMN225,978 mi
11
8%9:47 AMENE7:09 PMWNW-2:28 PMN229,000 mi
12
15%11:06 AMNE7:47 PMNW-3:27 PMN232,681 mi
13
24%12:19 PMNE8:35 PMNW-4:27 PMN236,666 mi
14
34%1:21 PMNE9:32 PMNW-5:27 PMN240,604 mi
15
45%2:11 PMNE10:36 PMNW-6:24 PMN244,194 mi
16
50%2:50 PMNE11:42 PMNW-7:16 PMN247,214 mi
17
65%3:20 PMENE--8:05 PMN249,530 mi
18
74%-12:49 AMWNW3:44 PMENE8:49 PMN251,086 mi
19
82%-1:54 AMWNW4:04 PMENE9:30 PMN251,893 mi
20
89%-2:58 AMWNW4:22 PME10:10 PMN252,010 mi
21
94%-4:00 AMW4:38 PME10:48 PMN251,526 mi
22
98%-5:02 AMW4:55 PME11:27 PMN250,547 mi
23
99%-6:05 AMW5:13 PMESE--
24
100%-7:10 AMWSW5:33 PMESE12:07 AMN249,174 mi
25
100%-8:17 AMWSW5:57 PMESE12:50 AMN247,500 mi
26
98%-9:26 AMWSW6:26 PMSE1:36 AMN245,593 mi
27
93%-10:35 AMSW7:04 PMSE2:26 AMN243,501 mi
28
87%-11:41 AMSW7:54 PMSE3:20 AMN241,254 mi
29
79%-12:40 PMSW8:54 PMSE4:17 AMN238,873 mi
30
69%-1:29 PMSW10:05 PMSE5:15 AMN236,394 mi

We base the humidity comfort level on the dew point, as it determines whether perspiration will evaporate from the skin, thereby cooling the body. Lower dew points feel drier and higher dew points feel more humid. Unlike temperature, which typically varies significantly between night and day, dew point tends to change more slowly, so while the temperature may drop at night, a muggy day is typically followed by a muggy night.

The chance that a given day will be muggy in Christchurch is essentially constant during April, remaining around 0% throughout.

For reference, on January 27, the muggiest day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time, while on March 28, the least muggy day of the year, there are muggy conditions 0% of the time.

Humidity Comfort Levels in April in Christchurch

Humidity Comfort Levels in April in ChristchurchApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930300%0%10%10%20%20%30%30%40%40%50%50%60%60%70%70%80%80%90%90%100%100%MarMayApr 10%Apr 10%Apr 300%Apr 300%Apr 110%Apr 110%Apr 210%Apr 210%comfortablecomfortabledrydryhumidhumid
dry 55°F comfortable 60°F humid 65°F muggy 70°F oppressive 75°F miserable
The percentage of time spent at various humidity comfort levels, categorized by dew point.

This section discusses the wide-area hourly average wind vector (speed and direction) at 10 meters above the ground. The wind experienced at any given location is highly dependent on local topography and other factors, and instantaneous wind speed and direction vary more widely than hourly averages.

The average hourly wind speed in Christchurch is essentially constant during April, remaining within 0.3 miles per hour of 9.5 miles per hour throughout.

For reference, on December 25, the windiest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 11.1 miles per hour, while on April 24, the calmest day of the year, the daily average wind speed is 9.2 miles per hour.

The lowest daily average wind speed during April is 9.2 miles per hour on April 24.

Average Wind Speed in April in Christchurch

Average Wind Speed in April in ChristchurchApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930300 mph0 mph2 mph2 mph4 mph4 mph6 mph6 mph8 mph8 mph10 mph10 mph12 mph12 mph14 mph14 mph16 mph16 mphMarMayApr 249.2 mphApr 249.2 mphApr 19.8 mphApr 19.8 mphApr 119.6 mphApr 119.6 mphNowNow
The average of mean hourly wind speeds (dark gray line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

The wind direction in Christchurch during April is predominantly out of the north from April 1 to April 28 and the west from April 28 to April 30.

Wind Direction in April in Christchurch

Wind Direction in April in ChristchurchNWApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930300%100%20%80%40%60%60%40%80%20%100%0%MarMayNowNowwestsouthnortheast
northeastsouthwest
The percentage of hours in which the mean wind direction is from each of the four cardinal wind directions, excluding hours in which the mean wind speed is less than 1.0 mph. The lightly tinted areas at the boundaries are the percentage of hours spent in the implied intermediate directions (northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest).

Christchurch is located near a large body of water (e.g., ocean, sea, or large lake). This section reports on the wide-area average surface temperature of that water.

The average surface water temperature in Christchurch is gradually decreasing during April, falling by 3°F, from 59°F to 56°F, over the course of the month.

Average Water Temperature in April in Christchurch

Average Water Temperature in April in ChristchurchApr11223344556677889910101111121213131414151516161717181819192020212122222323242425252626272728282929303050°F50°F52°F52°F54°F54°F56°F56°F58°F58°F60°F60°F62°F62°F64°F64°FMarMayApr 159°FApr 159°FApr 3056°FApr 3056°FApr 1158°FApr 1158°FApr 2157°FApr 2157°FNowNow
The daily average water temperature (purple line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

Definitions of the growing season vary throughout the world, but for the purposes of this report, we define it as the longest continuous period of non-freezing temperatures (≥ 32°F) in the year (the calendar year in the Northern Hemisphere, or from July 1 until June 30 in the Southern Hemisphere).

The growing season in Christchurch typically lasts for 8.5 months (256 days), from around September 10 to around May 24, rarely starting before August 11 or after October 22, and rarely ending before April 22 or after June 14.

The month of April in Christchurch is more likely than not fully within the growing season, with the chance that a given day is in the growing season decreasing from 98% to 86% over the course of the month.

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in April in Christchurch

Time Spent in Various Temperature Bands and the Growing Season in April in Christchurchgrowing seasonApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930300%100%10%90%20%80%30%70%40%60%50%50%60%40%70%30%80%20%90%10%100%0%MarMay98%Apr 198%Apr 186%Apr 3086%Apr 3095%Apr 1195%Apr 1191%Apr 2191%Apr 2150%May 2450%May 24NowNowvery coldcoldcoolcomfortable
frigid 15°F freezing 32°F very cold 45°F cold 55°F cool 65°F comfortable 75°F warm 85°F hot 95°F sweltering
The percentage of time spent in various temperature bands. The black line is the percentage chance that a given day is within the growing season.

Growing degree days are a measure of yearly heat accumulation used to predict plant and animal development, and defined as the integral of warmth above a base temperature, discarding any excess above a maximum temperature. In this report, we use a base of 50°F and a cap of 86°F.

The average accumulated growing degree days in Christchurch are gradually increasing during April, increasing by 148°F, from 1,685°F to 1,832°F, over the course of the month.

Growing Degree Days in April in Christchurch

Growing Degree Days in April in ChristchurchApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930301,500°F1,500°F1,600°F1,600°F1,700°F1,700°F1,800°F1,800°F1,900°F1,900°F2,000°F2,000°FMarMayApr 11,685°FApr 11,685°FApr 301,832°FApr 301,832°FApr 111,747°FApr 111,747°FNowNow
The average growing degree days accumulated over the course of April, with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

This section discusses the total daily incident shortwave solar energy reaching the surface of the ground over a wide area, taking full account of seasonal variations in the length of the day, the elevation of the Sun above the horizon, and absorption by clouds and other atmospheric constituents. Shortwave radiation includes visible light and ultraviolet radiation.

The average daily incident shortwave solar energy in Christchurch is decreasing during April, falling by 1.4 kWh, from 3.9 kWh to 2.5 kWh, over the course of the month.

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in April in Christchurch

Average Daily Incident Shortwave Solar Energy in April in ChristchurchApr1122334455667788991010111112121313141415151616171718181919202021212222232324242525262627272828292930300 kWh0 kWh1 kWh1 kWh2 kWh2 kWh3 kWh3 kWh4 kWh4 kWh5 kWh5 kWh6 kWh6 kWh7 kWh7 kWhMarMayApr 13.9 kWhApr 13.9 kWhApr 302.5 kWhApr 302.5 kWhApr 113.3 kWhApr 113.3 kWhNowNow
The average daily shortwave solar energy reaching the ground per square meter (orange line), with 25th to 75th and 10th to 90th percentile bands.

For the purposes of this report, the geographical coordinates of Christchurch are -43.533 deg latitude, 172.633 deg longitude, and 46 ft elevation.

The topography within 2 miles of Christchurch contains only modest variations in elevation, with a maximum elevation change of 121 feet and an average elevation above sea level of 36 feet. Within 10 miles contains only modest variations in elevation (1,798 feet). Within 50 miles contains very significant variations in elevation (6,529 feet).

The area within 2 miles of Christchurch is covered by artificial surfaces (86%) and grassland (10%), within 10 miles by grassland (30%) and water (28%), and within 50 miles by water (61%) and grassland (16%).

This report illustrates the typical weather in Christchurch, based on a statistical analysis of historical hourly weather reports and model reconstructions from January 1, 1980 to December 31, 2016.

Temperature and Dew Point

There is only a single weather station, Christchurch International Airport, in our network suitable to be used as a proxy for the historical temperature and dew point records of Christchurch.

At a distance of 10 kilometers from Christchurch, closer than our threshold of 150 kilometers, this station is deemed sufficiently nearby to be relied upon as our primary source for temperature and dew point records.

The station records are corrected for the elevation difference between the station and Christchurch according to the International Standard Atmosphere , and by the relative change present in the MERRA-2 satellite-era reanalysis between the two locations.

Please note that the station records themselves may additionally have been back-filled using other nearby stations or the MERRA-2 reanalysis.

Other Data

All data relating to the Sun's position (e.g., sunrise and sunset) are computed using astronomical formulas from the book, Astronomical Algorithms 2nd Edition , by Jean Meeus.

All other weather data, including cloud cover, precipitation, wind speed and direction, and solar flux, come from NASA's MERRA-2 Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis . This reanalysis combines a variety of wide-area measurements in a state-of-the-art global meteorological model to reconstruct the hourly history of weather throughout the world on a 50-kilometer grid.

Land Use data comes from the Global Land Cover SHARE database , published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Elevation data comes from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) , published by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Names, locations, and time zones of places and some airports come from the GeoNames Geographical Database .

Time zones for airports and weather stations are provided by AskGeo.com .

Maps are © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Disclaimer

The information on this site is provided as is, without any assurances as to its accuracy or suitability for any purpose. Weather data is prone to errors, outages, and other defects. We assume no responsibility for any decisions made on the basis of the content presented on this site.

We draw particular cautious attention to our reliance on the MERRA-2 model-based reconstructions for a number of important data series. While having the tremendous advantages of temporal and spatial completeness, these reconstructions: (1) are based on computer models that may have model-based errors, (2) are coarsely sampled on a 50 km grid and are therefore unable to reconstruct the local variations of many microclimates, and (3) have particular difficulty with the weather in some coastal areas, especially small islands.

We further caution that our travel scores are only as good as the data that underpin them, that weather conditions at any given location and time are unpredictable and variable, and that the definition of the scores reflects a particular set of preferences that may not agree with those of any particular reader.

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