Climate averages 1991–2020
Christchurch weather
in January.
A mild, moderately wet month: one of the warmest and the 8th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
January is a mild month in Christchurch: daytime highs average 21.2°C and nights cool to about 12.4°C. By daytime temperature it is one of the warmest months of the year.
Expect about 50 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes January a moderately wet month (the 8th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 15 h 00 min on an average January day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Wellington (305 km away). In January its highs average 17.8°C, 3.4°C cooler than Christchurch, with 55 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in New Zealand, Christchurch ranks 6th of 11 for the warmest January highs and 1st of 11 for the driest January (rainfall, lowest first). The mean January high of those 11 cities is 20.8°C; Christchurch is 0.4°C warmer than that mean.
From January to February, average highs stay level at 21.2°C, and monthly rainfall falls from 50 mm to 39 mm.
The annual picture
January 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, selected | 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
January in nearby cities
- Wellington in JanuaryNew Zealand · 305 kmHigh 17.8°C · Low 14.6°C · 55 mm rain
- Dunedin in JanuaryNew Zealand · 310 kmHigh 17.4°C · Low 10.9°C · 89 mm rain
- Lower Hutt in JanuaryNew Zealand · 319 kmHigh 19.5°C · Low 14.6°C · 58 mm rain
- Palmerston North in JanuaryNew Zealand · 431 kmHigh 20.8°C · Low 13.1°C · 70 mm rain
- New Plymouth in JanuaryNew Zealand · 511 kmHigh 20.0°C · Low 14.2°C · 106 mm rain
- Hastings, New Zealand in JanuaryNew Zealand · 557 kmHigh 23.2°C · Low 14.6°C · 61 mm rain
- Hamilton, New Zealand in JanuaryNew Zealand · 677 kmHigh 22.5°C · Low 14.0°C · 70 mm rain
- Tauranga in JanuaryNew Zealand · 715 kmHigh 22.0°C · Low 15.5°C · 86 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.