Niwa’s official climate data shows New Zealand has just experienced its warmest winter on record — significantly exceeding the previous record which was set just last year.
Last winter was 1.14degC above average, but this year’s winter (June to August) was much warmer at 1.32degC above average.
The temperature figures are derived from Niwa’s seven main weather stations around New Zealand, which extend back to 1909.
Niwa meteorologist Nava Fedaeff said 76 locations across the country experienced a record or near-record warm winter — many of them were in Otago and Southland.
Dunedin (Musselburgh) had a mean temperature of 8.5degC which was 1.4degC above normal, making it the city’s warmest winter on record.
Also recording their highest mean temperatures and warmest winters on record were Alexandra (5.8degC), Clyde (5.5degC), Cromwell (6.2degC), Haast (9.6degC), Hokitika (9.6degC), Lauder (5.2degC), Te Anau (6.3degC), and Wanaka (6.1degC).
Lumsden, Middlemarch, Milford Sound, Nugget Point, Queenstown, Ranfurly and Roxburgh had their second warmest winter on record.
Many of the Central Otago sites were about 2degC warmer than usual.
Several spots around the southern region also had their hottest daily temperatures on record, including Five Rivers (19.5degC on June 5), Middlemarch (21.5degC on August 24), and Puysegur Point (18.1degC on June 5).
Ms Fedaeff said the last time the warmest winter record was toppled the following year, was in 1970 and 1971.
"What was considered to be unusuallywarmatthetime, is no longer considered unusual.
“The winter of 1971 now stands in 13th place of the temperature rankings while the winter of 1970 is 18th.’’
She said the winters of 1970, 1971, 2020 and 2021 were all influenced by La Nina which brought warm coastal waters, frequent high pressure and more northerly and north-easterly winds than normal.
‘‘These similar winters, decades apart, show us that there are key natural ingredients to getting a warm winter, but adding climate change to the mix is like taking the same recipe and swapping plain flour for self-raising.’’
Of the 10 warmest winters on record, seven have occurred since 2000, she said.
