New Zealand experiences hottest June on record
despite polar blast
Average temperatures for the month were 2C higher than
normal, with 24 separate locations hitting their own records
Eva Corlett
in Wellington
Mon 5 Jul
2021 06.11 BST
New Zealand
has experienced its hottest June since records began more than 110 years ago,
according to official climate data.
Despite a
polar blast that swept up the country last week, figures from the National
Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research’s (NIWA) show the average
temperature for June was 2C warmer than usual, with twenty-four locations
around the country hitting their own record highs.
That makes
this June New Zealand’s warmest since NIWA’s seven station temperature series
began in 1909.
The warmth
was widespread, with every long-term monitoring station observing either above
or well-above average mean temperatures. It was particularly warm in Motueka,
near the top of the South Island, where the mean temperature of 10.8C was 3.2C
higher than the town’s 1981-2010 average.
Of the six
main centres, Auckland was the warmest and sunniest, Tauranga was the wettest,
Christchurch was the coldest and driest, and Dunedin was the least sunny.
The highest
temperature recorded was in Hastings, in the Hawke’s Bay, and Leigh, north of
Auckland, both reaching 22C on different days of the month.
The 2C
average increase is “a massive shift” relative to normal, climate scientist
Gregor Macara said, adding that the previous June record was an average 1.64C
higher than usual.
NIWA puts
the increase in temperatures down to above-normal sea level air pressure to the
east of the country, and climate change.
“North-easterlies
are dragging air masses from the sub-tropics, so they are relatively warm. The
fact we were having more north-easterlies than normal delivered warmer air over
the country than we would typically see in June.”
Sea surface
temperatures were also warmer than normal and could be a contributing factor.
“Because we
are an island nation, our climate is characterised as maritime, which means it
is influenced by the sea. The warmer-than-normal sea surfaces helped to sustain
the warmer-than-normal air temperatures,” Macara said.
Underpinning
all of this was climate change, he said.
In the past
100 years, New Zealand’s temperature has increased by 1C, which is contributing
to the overall warmer temperatures, Macara said.
If warmer
winter months persist in the years to come, that could spell trouble for the
country’s ski-fields and agricultural sector.
“It will
pose increasing challenges on the ski-industry because it will be more marginal
to operate earlier in the season with the lack of snowfall, or with
temperatures that are too warm to enable artificial snow to be made.”
Earlier in
June, two of the country’s most popular skiing destinations – Queenstown’s
Coronet Peak and Wanaka’s Cardrona Alpine Ski Resort – had to delay their
openings due to the warm weather and lack of snowfall.
Agricultural
industries that rely on frosts would also suffer, he said, but added the warmer
weather could provide opportunities for re-orienting the sector towards crops
that do well in warmer climates.
NIWA
forecasters predict a continuation of warm weather throughout the remaining
winter months.
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