New Zealand has experienced its warmest June since national temperature records began in 1909, with a nationwide average of 10.6°C.
Bromley in Christchurch set a new June temperature record of 26.0°C on 20 June. Multiple locations across the country recorded readings at least 2°C higher than their historical June averages.
Overnight warmth in Wellington
Wellington's Kelburn station registered its highest-ever June temperature during the early morning hours of 1-2 June, between 2-4am. The reading occurred in complete darkness, without any solar heating.
Auckland and Tauranga were the equal-warmest of the six main centres during the month. Tauranga also led the main centres for sunshine, while Dunedin received the least rainfall. Christchurch was the coolest of the six centres despite recording the month's national high. Wellington topped the rainfall charts and recorded the lowest sunshine totals among the main centres.
First-half sunshine records
Nelson accumulated 1410 hours of sunshine in the first six months of 2026, making it the country's sunniest location for the period. New Plymouth logged 1386 hours, Whakatāne 1356 hours, and Richmond 1334 hours.
Climate patterns and context
Earth Sciences climate scientist Gregor Macara, who has produced climate summaries for 13 years, analysed the June patterns. By month's end, El Niño conditions were present in the tropical Pacific, while water temperatures around New Zealand were primarily warmer than typical.
Macara said the country is setting far more high temperature records or near-records both nationally and at individual monitoring sites.
"I kind of hate to admit it but I didn't find it that surprising at all it's just following the trend of what I've been observing in the time I've been at Earth Sciences," Macara said of the June record.