Climate averages 1991–2020
Christchurch weather
in May.
A cool, moderately wet month: the 8th warmest and the joint 4th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
May is a cool month in Christchurch: daytime highs average 13.5°C and nights cool to about 5.8°C. By daytime temperature it is the 8th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 48 mm of rain on roughly 8 days, which makes May a moderately wet month (the joint 4th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 9 h 40 min on an average May day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Wellington (305 km away). In May its highs average 13.8°C, about as warm as Christchurch, with 76 mm of rain.
Among the 11 cities listed in New Zealand, Christchurch ranks 10th of 11 for the warmest May highs and 1st of 11 for the driest May (rainfall, lowest first). The mean May high of those 11 cities is 14.8°C; Christchurch is 1.3°C cooler than that mean.
From May to June, average highs fall by 3.0°C to 10.5°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 48 mm to 57 mm.
The annual picture
May 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 | 16.3°C8.2°C | 8.2°C | 52 | 8.8 | 10.911 h |
| May, selected | 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
May in nearby cities
- Wellington in MayNew Zealand · 305 kmHigh 13.8°C · Low 11.1°C · 76 mm rain
- Dunedin in MayNew Zealand · 310 kmHigh 11.5°C · Low 5.5°C · 50 mm rain
- Lower Hutt in MayNew Zealand · 319 kmHigh 14.3°C · Low 10.4°C · 70 mm rain
- Palmerston North in MayNew Zealand · 431 kmHigh 14.4°C · Low 7.9°C · 79 mm rain
- New Plymouth in MayNew Zealand · 511 kmHigh 14.7°C · Low 10.2°C · 183 mm rain
- Hastings, New Zealand in MayNew Zealand · 557 kmHigh 15.5°C · Low 8.3°C · 54 mm rain
- Hamilton, New Zealand in MayNew Zealand · 677 kmHigh 15.8°C · Low 8.2°C · 107 mm rain
- Tauranga in MayNew Zealand · 715 kmHigh 15.8°C · Low 10.6°C · 113 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.