Time for a cool change, so let’s chill

Relief on way with sweltering heat about to get the cold shoulder

Those struggling in the sweltering heat will soon have some welcome relief — mother nature is about to flick on the air conditioning.

The heatwave is set to end, with a cold front moving its way up the country.

James Millward from the MetService said the south would feel more comfortable after days of soaring temperatures.

“It will be welcomed relief after having such high temperatures and will work its way up to the North Island for the weekend,” he said.

Millward said plenty of records had been broken in January with heatwave conditions officially confirmed for some regions and all-time highs set.

Heatwaves — where the temperature is 5 degrees above average for five or more days — were confirmed for inland Bay of Plenty (Kawerau), inland Wairarapa (Masterton), Blenheim in Marlborough and inland parts of Canterbury Plains (Cheviot and Culverden).

Parts of Auckland experienced their hottest day in years on Tuesday when most spots tipped 30C. Whenuapai had its third hottest day on record (since 1945) on 30.3C.

The hot day also coincided with Auckland’s thirstiest day on record, with 524 million litres of water being consumed on Tuesday, 20 million litres more than the previous record, according to Watercare.

The hottest temperature recorded in January was 37.3C in Hurunui on Thursday and Richmond broke a South Island all-time record for most sunshine hours in a month.

Takaka broke its own record for the sunniest month, that’s the most sunshine hours in a month. It was the second highest on record in Nelson.

The heat sparked additional warnings about keeping safe and hydrated during peak sunshine hours, checking on the elderly and vulnerable people and not leaving

children and pets stifling in vehicles.

Despite the recent heatwave, this summer will have to get a whole lot hotter to beat last year’s recordbreaking heat.

The 2017/2018 summer was the hottest on record.

“We aren’t quite there with the temperature this year to be warmer than last year, so it would take a very warm Feb to do this,” Millward said.

School is back briefly next week before a break midweek for Waitangi Day, and those in the North Island should experience relatively settled weather. Bursts of rain are expected throughout the South Island.

Waitangi Day on Wednesday will see some bathed in sunshine and others treated to showers. Temperatures will vary, with a high of 27C in Auckland but southerlies cooling Christchurch to 17C.