Last month brought warmer-than-average temperatures to most of the country, marking it as New Zealand’s 10th-warmest May on record, according to NIWA’s latest climate summary for May 2025.

Inland and southern parts of the South Island experienced particularly warm conditions, with some areas recording temperatures more than 1.5°C above average.

Rainfall varied across New Zealand, with eastern and southern regions experiencing below-normal rainfall and sunny skies for May, and Lake Tekapo recording its sunniest May since records began in 1928. In contrast, parts of the upper South Island and central North Island were wetter than usual.

Extreme weather events included a high of 24.2°C in Gisborne and Christchurch, a low of -5.0°C in Manapouri and Tūrangi, and a wind gust reaching 200 km/h at Cape Turnagain.

Tauranga topped sunshine and rainfall among main centres, while Auckland was the warmest, Dunedin the driest and least sunny, and Christchurch was the coolest. The three sunniest locations in 2025 so far are Taranaki, Bay of Plenty, and Auckland.

There is more detailed information at the full Monthly Climate Summary, available at https://niwa.co.nz/climate-and-weather/monthly

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