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Christchurch, the largest city of New Zealand's South Island, sits on the Canterbury Plains on the east coast, sheltered to the west by the Southern Alps and to the northeast by the Banks Peninsula, at approximately -43.53°S, 172.64°E. It has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb) — mild and notably dry and sunny — and is the driest of New Zealand's major cities.
Summer, from December to February, is warm and dry, with January the warmest month — average highs around 22–23°C — though the hot, dry nor'wester, a föhn wind descending from the Southern Alps, can push temperatures past 30°C and dry the plains. It is the sunniest, driest stretch, with January alone bringing some 238 hours of sunshine.
Winter, from June to August, is cool and crisp, with July the coolest month — average highs around 11–12°C and nights that commonly fall below freezing; Christchurch records around 70 days of ground frost a year. Snow falls once or twice a year in the hill suburbs and less often on the plain, and June is the cloudiest and wettest month.
Christchurch is the driest of New Zealand's major cities, receiving only around 575–690 mm of rain a year, evenly spread with a slight winter maximum, while enjoying some 2,100 hours of sunshine annually — the Southern Alps strip the moisture from the prevailing westerlies before they reach the plains. Live rainfall, humidity, and pressure readings for the city are shown in the panels above.
Christchurch's climate is defined by the Southern Alps to its west, which cast a deep rain shadow over the Canterbury Plains — while Milford Sound on the other side of the mountains receives over 6,700 mm a year, Christchurch gets barely a tenth of that. The same mountains generate the nor'wester, a hot, blustery föhn wind that can raise temperatures dramatically and stoke fire danger.
To follow any single measurement in Christchurch more closely, use our live instruments: the online barometer for atmospheric pressure, the thermometer for temperature, the hygrometer for humidity, the anemometer for wind speed, the wind vane for wind direction, and the rain gauge for rainfall.