Climate averages 1991–2020
Christchurch weather
in April.
A mild, moderately wet month: the 6th warmest and the joint 9th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
April is a mild month in Christchurch: daytime highs average 16.3°C and nights cool to about 8.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the 6th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 52 mm of rain on roughly 9 days, which makes April a moderately wet month (the joint 9th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 10 h 55 min on an average April day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Wellington (305 km away). In April its highs average 15.4°C, 0.9°C cooler than Christchurch, with 73 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in New Zealand, Christchurch ranks joint 8th of 11 for the warmest April highs and 1st of 11 for the driest April (rainfall, lowest first). The mean April high of those 11 cities is 17.1°C; Christchurch is 0.8°C cooler than that mean.
From April to May, average highs fall by 2.8°C to 13.5°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 52 mm to 48 mm.
The annual picture
April in context
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, selected | 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
April in nearby cities
- Wellington in AprilNew Zealand · 305 kmHigh 15.4°C · Low 12.4°C · 73 mm rain
- Dunedin in AprilNew Zealand · 310 kmHigh 13.9°C · Low 7.6°C · 54 mm rain
- Lower Hutt in AprilNew Zealand · 319 kmHigh 16.3°C · Low 11.9°C · 69 mm rain
- Palmerston North in AprilNew Zealand · 431 kmHigh 16.9°C · Low 9.7°C · 82 mm rain
- New Plymouth in AprilNew Zealand · 511 kmHigh 16.9°C · Low 11.7°C · 154 mm rain
- Hastings, New Zealand in AprilNew Zealand · 557 kmHigh 18.0°C · Low 10.6°C · 69 mm rain
- Hamilton, New Zealand in AprilNew Zealand · 677 kmHigh 18.6°C · Low 10.3°C · 92 mm rain
- Tauranga in AprilNew Zealand · 715 kmHigh 18.3°C · Low 12.6°C · 117 mm rain
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 limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Christchurch) is explained once on the Christchurch year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.