Climate and Average Weather Year Round in Christchurch New Zealand

In Christchurch, the summers are comfortable, the winters are cold and windy, and it is partly cloudy year round. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 37°F to 71°F and is rarely below 30°F or above 81°F.

Based on the tourism score, the best time of year to visit Christchurch for warm-weather activities is from early January to late February.

The warm season lasts for 3.4 months, from December 3 to March 15, with an average daily high temperature above 67°F. The hottest month of the year in Christchurch is January, with an average high of 70°F and low of 55°F.

The cool season lasts for 3.0 months, from May 28 to August 29, with an average daily high temperature below 55°F. The coldest month of the year in Christchurch is July, with an average low of 37°F and high of 52°F.

The clearest month of the year in Christchurch is February, during which on average the sky is clear, mostly clear, or partly cloudy 60% of the time.

The cloudiest month of the year in Christchurch is July, during which on average the sky is overcast or mostly cloudy 48% of the time.

Christchurch does not experience significant seasonal variation in the frequency of wet days (i.e., those with greater than 0.04 inches of liquid or liquid-equivalent precipitation). The frequency ranges from 22% to 32%, with an average value of 27%.

Among wet days, we distinguish between those that experience rain alone, snow alone, or a mixture of the two. The month with the most days of rain alone in Christchurch is December, with an average of 9.3 days. Based on this categorization, the most common form of precipitation throughout the year is rain alone, with a peak probability of 32% on December 19.

Rainfall

To show variation within the months and not just the monthly totals, we show the rainfall accumulated over a sliding 31-day period centered around each day of the year. Christchurch experiences some seasonal variation in monthly rainfall.

Rain falls throughout the year in Christchurch. The month with the most rain in Christchurch is June, with an average rainfall of 2.3 inches.

The month with the least rain in Christchurch is September, with an average rainfall of 1.8 inches.

The length of the day in Christchurch varies significantly over the course of the year. In 2024, the shortest day is June 21, with 8 hours, 56 minutes of daylight; the longest day is December 21, with 15 hours, 26 minutes of daylight.

The earliest sunrise is at 5:41 AM on December 10, and the latest sunrise is 2 hours, 22 minutes later at 8:03 AM on June 27. The earliest sunset is at 4:58 PM on June 15, and the latest sunset is 4 hours, 15 minutes later at 9:13 PM on January 3.

Daylight saving time (DST) is observed in Christchurch during 2024, starting in the spring on September 29 and ending in the fall on April 7.

The figure below presents a compact representation of key lunar data for 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.

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 perceived humidity level in Christchurch, as measured by the percentage of time in which the humidity comfort level is muggy, oppressive, or miserable, does not vary significantly over the course of the year, remaining a virtually constant 0% throughout.

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 experiences mild seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The windier part of the year lasts for 6.1 months, from September 15 to March 17, with average wind speeds of more than 10.2 miles per hour. The windiest month of the year in Christchurch is December, with an average hourly wind speed of 10.9 miles per hour.

The calmer time of year lasts for 5.9 months, from March 17 to September 15. The calmest month of the year in Christchurch is April, with an average hourly wind speed of 9.5 miles per hour.

The predominant average hourly wind direction in Christchurch varies throughout the year.

The wind is most often from the east for 2.9 weeks, from January 28 to February 17, with a peak percentage of 29% on February 7. The wind is most often from the north for 2.4 months, from February 17 to April 28; for 2.1 weeks, from September 2 to September 17; and for 3.5 months, from October 12 to January 28, with a peak percentage of 33% on September 14. The wind is most often from the west for 4.1 months, from April 28 to September 2 and for 3.6 weeks, from September 17 to October 12, with a peak percentage of 41% on June 11.

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 water temperature experiences some seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The time of year with warmer water lasts for 3.3 months, from December 21 to March 30, with an average temperature above 59°F. The month of the year in Christchurch with the warmest water is February, with an average temperature of 62°F.

The time of year with cooler water lasts for 3.4 months, from June 16 to September 28, with an average temperature below 51°F. The month of the year in Christchurch with the coolest water is August, with an average temperature of 48°F.

To characterize how pleasant the weather is in Christchurch throughout the year, we compute two travel scores.

The tourism score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 65°F and 80°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Christchurch for general outdoor tourist activities is from early January to late February, with a peak score in the first week of February.

The beach/pool score favors clear, rainless days with perceived temperatures between 75°F and 90°F. Based on this score, the best time of year to visit Christchurch for hot-weather activities is from late December to late January, with a peak score in the second week of January.

Methodology

For each hour between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM of each day in the analysis period (1980 to 2016), independent scores are computed for perceived temperature, cloud cover, and total precipitation. Those scores are combined into a single hourly composite score, which is then aggregated into days, averaged over all the years in the analysis period, and smoothed.

Our cloud cover score is 10 for fully clear skies, falling linearly to 9 for mostly clear skies, and to 1 for fully overcast skies.

Our precipitation score, which is based on the three-hour precipitation centered on the hour in question, is 10 for no precipitation, falling linearly to 9 for trace precipitation, and to 0 for 0.04 inches of precipitation or more.

Our tourism temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 50°F, rising linearly to 9 for 65°F, to 10 for 75°F, falling linearly to 9 for 80°F, and to 1 for 90°F or hotter.

Our beach/pool temperature score is 0 for perceived temperatures below 65°F, rising linearly to 9 for 75°F, to 10 for 82°F, falling linearly to 9 for 90°F, and to 1 for 100°F or hotter.

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.

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.

Based on growing degree days alone, the first spring blooms in Christchurch should appear around September 20, only rarely appearing before September 7 or after October 3.

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 experiences extreme seasonal variation over the course of the year.

The brighter period of the year lasts for 3.6 months, from October 28 to February 16, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter above 6.2 kWh. The brightest month of the year in Christchurch is December, with an average of 7.2 kWh.

The darker period of the year lasts for 3.7 months, from April 27 to August 18, with an average daily incident shortwave energy per square meter below 2.6 kWh. The darkest month of the year in Christchurch is June, with an average of 1.5 kWh.

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%).