NZ EXPERIENCES WARMEST WINTER ON RECORD

Wellington, Sept. 3: New Zealand has had its warmest winter since records began more than 100 years ago, according to official climate data.

The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's (Niwa) Seven Station Temperature Series, which began in 1909, shows the

2020 winter was 1.14C above average.

Niwa forecaster Ben Noll said that seven of the 10 warmest winters on record in New Zealand have now occurred since 2000. "It just showcases the trajectory that we are on," he said.

Noll said that, decades into the future, these present-day records might be more like average winters for the country and that would have impacts across many sectors of society.

Seventeen locations around the country had record breaking-mean winter temperatures, and 53 other locations ranked within their top four warmest winters.

The highest recorded winter 2020 temperature was 25.1C on 30 August in Timaru.

It was the highest temperature recorded there during winter since records began in 1885. It was also the equalfourth warmest winter temperature on record for the whole of New Zealand.

The lowest temperature was -12.3°C, observed at Middlemarch, in the South Island's Otago region, on

14 June.