Climate averages 1991–2020
Christchurch weather
by month.
See how the year changes. January (tied with February) has the highest average daily maximum; February has the lowest average monthly rainfall.
Pleasant-weather months by our simple rule: FebruaryMarch
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
Across the year Christchurch averages a daytime high of 15.7°C and a nighttime low of 7.4°C, with about 585 mm of rain on roughly 101 days. January (tied with February) is the warmest month (average high 21.2°C) and July the coolest (9.9°C). June is the wettest month with 57 mm; February is the driest with 39 mm.
Months with pleasant weather by a simple rule (average high between 18°C and 29°C, average low of at least 5°C and at most 8 rain days): February and March. This looks at temperature and rain only, not humidity, wind, sea temperature or crowds.
The annual picture
A year in Christchurch
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Christchurch climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21.2°C12.4°C | 12.4°C | 50 | 8.3 | 15.015 h |
| February | 21.2°C12.5°C | 12.5°C | 39 | 6.8 | 13.914 h |
| March | 19.3°C10.7°C | 10.7°C | 45 | 6.9 | 12.412 h |
| April | 16.3°C8.2°C | 8.2°C | 52 | 8.8 | 10.911 h |
| May | 13.5°C5.8°C | 5.8°C | 48 | 8.1 | 9.710 h |
| June | 10.5°C3.0°C | 3.0°C | 57 | 8.8 | 9.09 h |
| July | 9.9°C2.1°C | 2.1°C | 52 | 8.5 | 9.39 h |
| August | 11.2°C3.1°C | 3.1°C | 48 | 8.9 | 10.410 h |
| September | 13.4°C4.8°C | 4.8°C | 43 | 8.1 | 11.812 h |
| October | 15.5°C6.6°C | 6.6°C | 48 | 9.6 | 13.313 h |
| November | 17.3°C8.5°C | 8.5°C | 49 | 9.0 | 14.615 h |
| December | 19.6°C11.0°C | 11.0°C | 53 | 9.3 | 15.315 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
Nearby cities
- WellingtonNew Zealand · 305 kmHigh 14.5°C · Low 11.5°C · 872 mm rain a year
- DunedinNew Zealand · 310 kmHigh 13.2°C · Low 6.7°C · 750 mm rain a year
- Lower HuttNew Zealand · 319 kmHigh 15.4°C · Low 11.0°C · 870 mm rain a year
- Palmerston NorthNew Zealand · 431 kmHigh 16.1°C · Low 9.0°C · 1,013 mm rain a year
- New PlymouthNew Zealand · 511 kmHigh 16.0°C · Low 10.8°C · 1,846 mm rain a year
- Hastings, New ZealandNew Zealand · 557 kmHigh 17.6°C · Low 9.8°C · 760 mm rain a year
- Hamilton, New ZealandNew Zealand · 677 kmHigh 17.6°C · Low 9.6°C · 1,177 mm rain a year
- TaurangaNew Zealand · 715 kmHigh 17.4°C · Low 11.5°C · 1,298 mm rain a year
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsWhat do the high and low temperatures mean?
We average the daily maximum and daily minimum for each calendar month over 1991–2020. They are not record extremes, a forecast range or temperatures at a fixed time of day.
How is a rain day counted?
A local calendar day (standard time, UTC+12, no daylight saving) with at least 1 mm of total precipitation counts as one rain day. We count these for each year and month, then average across 30 years. The average does not predict which days will be wet.
Where do the numbers come from?
ERA5-Land (temperature) and ERA5 (precipitation) reanalysis from the Copernicus Climate Change Service, read from the Open-Meteo open-data archive. Temperature comes from the 0.1° model cell at -43.50°, 172.60° (5 km from the city centre), adjusted up by 0.1°C for the difference between the city's elevation (14 m) and the cell's (30 m). Rain comes from the 0.25° cell at -43.50°, 172.75°. These are model estimates, not weather-station readings; coast, hills and city streets can differ.
Does this page show sunshine, humidity or sea temperature?
No. The data used here contain air temperature and precipitation only. Daylight hours are calculated from the city's latitude (sunrise to sunset), not measured sunshine.