New Zealand weather
Loading live data…Latest for New Zealand: European (ECMWF): 17° Drizzle · American (NOAA GFS): 18° Overcast · German (DWD ICON): 20° Overcast.
The weather map: all three models at once
European, American, German side by side around New Zealand and nearby towns.Live rain radar →Hourly forecast: next 14 hours
consensus of the three modelsRain in the next 24 hours, model by model
each model's own hourly precipitation, side by sideLoading the three models…
10-day forecast, out to 14 days
where the models agree, and where they splitHeading to New Zealand? New Zealand, New Zealand, sits at 36.8°S in a temperate climate zone. The averages on this page are measured at Auckland, the main gateway for AU travellers; inland and mountain areas run cooler. Before you lock in outdoor plans, compare how the three global models - European (ECMWF), American (GFS) and German (ICON) - forecast New Zealand right now. Where they agree you can trust it; the days they split are exactly when a single weather app is least reliable. For a city break, the rain hours below tell you which days to plan indoors.
Where to go in New Zealand
We cover 6 destinations in New Zealand, each with its own live three-model comparison and long-run averages. The table shows the typical daytime high in January and July and the wettest month, so you can see how much the coast, the cities and the islands differ before you pick dates.
Best time to visit New Zealand
The most comfortable time to visit New Zealand is usually January, February, March and April, when daytime highs sit in the pleasant 16-26°C range and the heaviest July rain is behind you.
New Zealand weather by month
what to expect in New Zealand through the year, 1991-2020 averagesHere is New Zealand's typical weather in each month: the average daytime high and overnight low in °C, how each month feels, and the wettest month marked. Use it to plan any trip to New Zealand by season.
New Zealand compared with Sydney
30-year averages: daytime highs month by month, rain and sunlightCooler through the year
average daytime high: New Zealand 19°C, Sydney 23°C
Rain over a year
New Zealand 1,196 mm, Sydney 1,148 mm
Sunlight vs a clear sky
solar energy reaching the ground as a share of a cloudless day, averaged over the year (not sunshine hours)
On 30-year averages New Zealand runs 4°C cooler than Sydney, with every month between −7°C and −2°C. Over a year it gets about the same rain as Sydney.
Month by month in numbers
| Month | New Zealand | Sydney | Difference | Sunlight, New Zealand | Sunlight, Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 23°C | 27°C | −4°C | 75% | 75% |
| February | 23°C | 28°C | −5°C | 74% | 73% |
| March | 21°C | 26°C | −5°C | 75% | 75% |
| April | 20°C | 24°C | −4°C | 73% | 77% |
| May | 17°C | 22°C | −5°C | 71% | 79% |
| June | 16°C | 18°C | −2°C | 70% | 74% |
| July | 14°C | 18°C | −4°C | 70% | 80% |
| August | 14°C | 20°C | −6°C | 71% | 82% |
| September | 16°C | 22°C | −6°C | 71% | 82% |
| October | 17°C | 24°C | −7°C | 70% | 77% |
| November | 19°C | 25°C | −6°C | 71% | 74% |
| December | 22°C | 27°C | −5°C | 70% | 74% |
Daytime highs and lows on this page are 1991-2020 averages. New Zealand: no weather station within 30 km at a similar height, so lows are ERA5 point values for 2023-2024, corrected month by month by NASA POWER's difference between those two years and 1991-2020, and highs are the uncorrected ERA5 values, which tested closer to station normals; rain is the CHELSA 1981-2010 climatology on a 1 km grid. Sydney: station normals from Sydney Observatory Hill (WMO), rain included. Sunlight vs a clear sky is NASA POWER's long-term average of the solar energy reaching the ground as a share of a cloudless day; it compares cloudiness and is not a count of sunshine hours. Sydney stands in for Australia here; other cities have their own climate tables.