The city recorded its hottest year on record, and other hot spots around the South also turned up the heat.
According to the Niwa 2023 Annual Climate Summary, last year was New Zealand’s second-warmest on record after 2022, with a nationwide average temperature of 13.61˚C.
As well as being as hot as Christchurch, Dunedin was also just as cool.
Dunedin was sunnier than both Auckland and Wellington, recording a total of 2119 sunshine hours compared with 2086 and 2038 hours respectively.
The city was also the driest out of the country’s six main centres with 680mm of rainfall — less than half that of Wellington and Hamilton and nearly 1000mm less than Auckland.
In September, heavy rain rocked the South, causing flooding, and a state of emergency was declared in Southland and Queenstown.
Queenstown recorded 87mm of rain on September 21, the highest since 1890 when records began.
A total of 68 properties were evacuated due to the flooding and associated debris, and some state highways and rural roads were closed.
Otago had the three lowest rainfall recording locations of 2023 — Ranfurly, which came in first with 359mm, followed by Alexandra with 361mm and Cromwell with 404mm.
The highest air temperature of the year was recorded in Middlemarch, which reached a scorching 35.6°C in early February.
Gore also felt the heat early that month, recording 34.1°C — its third-highest temperature since 1907.
Timaru recorded a maximum temperature of 28.9˚C on September 20, which was the country’s fifth-highest temperature recorded in September ever.
Meanwhile, temperatures are expected to soar in Dunedin later this week.
MetService is forecasting a high of 28°C today followed by 26°C on Saturday, with occasional showers.
In Alexandra temperatures are also expected to reach a high of 28°C today and 31°C tomorrow.
