Otago Daily Times

Warmest winter on record

- JOHN LEWIS

IF you picked it, you are unusually sensitive.

By the narrowest of margins, New Zealand has just experience­d its warmest winter on record.

Official Niwa climate data shows the nationwide average temperatur­e for winter 2020 was 9.6degC — 0.06degC warmer than the previous record set in 2013.

Forecaster Ben Noll said the data comes from Niwa’s Seven Station Temperatur­e Series, which began in 1909, and showed the 2020 winter was 1.14degC above average.

This year’s result also meant seven of the 10 warmest winters on record in New Zealand have occurred since 2000.

Seventeen locations recorded their highest winter mean air temperatur­es since records began.

Haast, Milford Sound, Puysegur Point and Alexandra recorded their secondhigh­est, and Oamaru, Dunedin and Five Rivers recorded their thirdhighe­st mean air temperatur­es.

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

It was the highest temperatur­e recorded there during winter since records began in 1885, and the fourthequa­l warmest winter temperatur­e on record for New Zealand as a whole.

Oamaru also recorded its highest winter temperatur­e when the mercury hit 23.2degC on August 30; and Puysegur Point, Wanaka, Ranfurly, Dunedin Airport and Dunedin (Musselburg­h) posted their secondhigh­est.

The lowest temperatur­e of the winter was 12.3degC, recorded in Middlemarc­h on June 14.

Surprising­ly, the highest oneday rainfall did not occur in Milford Sound this winter.

It was recorded in Kaikohe and

Whangarei, which received 262mm and 251mm respective­ly on July 17.

This is the highest oneday rainfall observed for both locations during winter.

Of New Zealand’s six main centres, Dunedin was the driest, Auckland was the warmest, Christchur­ch was the coolest, Hamilton was the least sunny and Tauranga was the wettest and sunniest.

Mr Noll said the winter warmth could be attributed to several factors.

Firstly, there were more subtropica­l northeaste­rly winds than normal, which brought warmer air toward New Zealand from the north.

Seasurface temperatur­es (SST) were above average during winter, especially August, and because New Zealand is an island nation, air temperatur­es are strongly influenced by the seas surroundin­g it.

Air pressure was also higher than normal, especially to the east, which contribute­d to a sunniertha­nusual winter in much of the South Island and lower North Island.

And climate change played an ongoing role because it was consistent with New Zealand’s longterm trend of increasing air temperatur­es, he said.

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 ?? PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY ?? Cutting a track . . . Atawhai Hotena trains on Dunedin’s frostcover­ed Oval this winter.
PHOTO: STEPHEN JAQUIERY Cutting a track . . . Atawhai Hotena trains on Dunedin’s frostcover­ed Oval this winter.

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