Christchurch climate

Name: Christchurch
Address: NZ

Christchurch is warmest in January, with average highs of 22 °C, and coldest in July, when nights average 2.6 °C. December is the wettest month (60 mm) and February the driest (40 mm). Figures are 1991–2020 climate normals.

Across a full year Christchurch averages 624 mm of rain, 19 days above 25 °C and 17 days below freezing.

New Zealand · population 419,200 · 1991–2020 normals

Temperature below 0 °C to above 30 °C Rain band height is that month’s share of the wettest month

Warmest month January 22 °C
Coldest month July 2.6 °C
Driest month February 40 mm
Wettest month December 60 mm
Least cloud May 56 % cloud
Hottest on record February 35 °C
Coldest on record June -7.4 °C
Warmest sea February 17 °C

What to expectChristchurch through the year

Christchurch has a clear annual cycle: average daily highs run from 10 °C in July to 22 °C in January, a swing of 11 °C in mean temperature across the year.

Counted across a normal year, 19 days a year reach 25 °C, 1 of them reach 30 °C, 17 nights drop below freezing. The warmest reading in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C, in February.

Rain is spread fairly evenly through the year, from 40 mm in February to 60 mm in December. There is no dry season to aim for.

The sea off Christchurch is warmest in February at 17 °C and coldest in August at 9.1 °C. Sea temperature lags the air by a month or two, which is why late summer swims warmer than early summer at the same air temperature.

Month by month

Month	Avg high	Rainfall	Cloud
January	21.8 °C	53 mm	61 %
February	21.7 °C	40 mm	58 %
March	19.7 °C	44 mm	57 %
April	16.6 °C	51 mm	58 %
May	13.7 °C	49 mm	56 %
June	10.7 °C	60 mm	59 %
July	10.1 °C	53 mm	58 %
August	11.4 °C	53 mm	58 %
September	13.8 °C	49 mm	57 %
October	16.1 °C	57 mm	59 %
November	18.1 °C	55 mm	60 %
December	20.4 °C	60 mm	64 %

Temperature month by month

Month	Avg high	Avg low	Mean	Record high	Record low	Days above 25 °C	Days below 0 °C
January	21.8 °C	12.8 °C	16.7 °C	32.5 °C	5.1 °C	7	0
February	21.7 °C	12.8 °C	16.6 °C	35.1 °C	4.4 °C	6	0
March	19.7 °C	11.0 °C	14.8 °C	29.4 °C	3.6 °C	2	0
April	16.6 °C	8.5 °C	12.0 °C	26.2 °C	0.2 °C	0	0
May	13.7 °C	6.1 °C	9.4 °C	21.4 °C	-3.4 °C	0	1
June	10.7 °C	3.5 °C	6.7 °C	19.3 °C	-7.4 °C	0	5
July	10.1 °C	2.6 °C	5.9 °C	17.2 °C	-7.0 °C	0	7
August	11.4 °C	3.6 °C	7.1 °C	19.2 °C	-4.2 °C	0	4
September	13.8 °C	5.3 °C	9.1 °C	23.2 °C	-3.1 °C	0	1
October	16.1 °C	7.1 °C	11.1 °C	26.0 °C	-2.5 °C	0	0
November	18.1 °C	9.0 °C	13.0 °C	28.2 °C	1.0 °C	1	0
December	20.4 °C	11.5 °C	15.4 °C	30.5 °C	3.4 °C	4	0

Rain, sun and wind month by month

Month	Rainfall	Wet days	Daylight	Cloud cover	Humidity	Wind	Sea temp
January	53 mm	8	15 h/day	61 %	69 %	23 km/h	16.5 °C
February	40 mm	6	14 h/day	58 %	71 %	21 km/h	16.9 °C
March	44 mm	7	12 h/day	57 %	73 %	21 km/h	16.0 °C
April	51 mm	8	11 h/day	58 %	77 %	19 km/h	14.4 °C
May	49 mm	8	9.6 h/day	56 %	81 %	18 km/h	12.7 °C
June	60 mm	9	9.0 h/day	59 %	83 %	18 km/h	10.7 °C
July	53 mm	8	9.3 h/day	58 %	83 %	17 km/h	9.5 °C
August	53 mm	9	10 h/day	58 %	81 %	19 km/h	9.1 °C
September	49 mm	9	12 h/day	57 %	77 %	20 km/h	10.0 °C
October	57 mm	11	13 h/day	59 %	74 %	22 km/h	11.5 °C
November	55 mm	10	15 h/day	60 %	70 %	22 km/h	13.6 °C
December	60 mm	10	15 h/day	64 %	69 %	23 km/h	15.1 °C

Where Christchurch ranks

Ranking	Position	Value
The coolest places in the world in July	6th of 50	10 °C
The coolest places in the world in August	7th of 50	11 °C
The coolest places in the world in June	9th of 50	11 °C
The coolest places in the world in September	33rd of 50	14 °C
The coolest places in the world in May	41st of 50	14 °C

Planning a trip? See the best time to visit Christchurch.

QuestionsCommon questions about Christchurch’s climate

When is the best time to visit Christchurch?

That depends on what you want, so the honest answer is a comparison rather than a single month. January, February, December sit closest to 20 °C on average, January is the warmest month and February the driest. The month-by-month table above has the full picture.

How hot does Christchurch get?

In January, the warmest month, daily highs average 22 °C. About 1 days a year pass 30 °C. The highest value in the 1991–2020 record is 35 °C.

How cold does it get in winter?

Nights average 2.6 °C in July, the coldest month. A normal year has 17 nights below freezing.

Which month is wettest in Christchurch?

December, averaging 60 mm over 10 days with rain. The driest month is February with 40 mm. The year as a whole averages 624 mm.

Are these figures a forecast?

No. They are 1991–2020 climate normals: the average of thirty years, which describes what a month is usually like in Christchurch rather than what any particular week will bring. Individual years can differ substantially from the normal.

Data sources and method

ERA5 / ERA5-Land reanalysis — Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), ECMWF. Copernicus Licence
Open-Meteo — Open-Meteo.com. CC BY 4.0
NOAA OISST v2.1 — NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory. Public domain
GeoNames — GeoNames.org. CC BY 4.0

Normal period: 1991–2020
Data point: -43.533°, 172.633° (the coordinates the reanalysis values are taken for)
Dataset version: era5-1991-2020-scores1.1
Last processed: 1 August 2026

Measured values come from ERA5 reanalysis and are reproduced unchanged. Calculated by us: monthly rankings, daylight hours, beach and comfort scores. Full formulas are on the methodology page.

Contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information 2026. Neither the European Commission nor ECMWF is responsible for any use that may be made of the Copernicus information or data it contains.