Climate
The climate is mostly cool temperate to warm temperate. Mean temperatures range from 8 °C (46 °F) in the South Island to 16 °C (61 °F) in the North Island. January and February are the warmest months, July the coldest. New Zealand does not have a large temperature range, apart from central Otago, but the weather can change rapidly and unexpectedly. Subtropical conditions are experienced in Northland. Peak summer temperatures are in the range 24-28 degrees Celsius,although inland Central Otago often experiences 30-34 degrees. Winds in New Zealand are predominantly from the West and South West, in Winter, when the climate is dominated by regular depressions. In Summer winds are more variable with a northerly predominance associated with the regular large anti cyclones which cover all the country.
Most settled, lowland areas of the country have between 600 and 1600 mm of rainfall, with the most rain along the west coast of the South Island and the least on the east coast of the South Island and interior basins, predominantly on the Canterbury Plains and the Central Otago Basin ( about 350 mm PA). Christchurch is the driest city, receiving about 640 mm (25 in) of rain per year, while Hamilton is the wettest, receiving more than twice that amount at 1325mm PA, followed closely by Auckland. The wettest area by far is the rugged Fiordland region,in the South West of the South Island, which has between 5000 and 8000 m rain per year, with up to 15,000 mm in isolated valleys, amongst the highest recorded rainfalls in the world.
New Zealand's UV index can be very high and extreme in the hottest times of the year in the north of the North Island. This is partly due to the country's relatively little air pollution compared to many other countries and the high sunshine hours. New Zealand has very high sunshine hours with most areas receiving over 2000 hours per year. The sunniest areas are Nelson/Marlborough and the Bay Of Plenty with 2400 Hours per years. Westland is the region with the lowest hours at 1600 which is the same as the sunniest area (Scilly Isles) in Britain.
There are three main factors that influence New Zealand's climate:
- the latitude, with prevailing westerly winds;
- the oceanic environment.
- the mountains, especially the Southern Alps.
Read more about this topic: Geography Of New Zealand
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