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Annual

Read NIWA's annual climate summaries, going back to the year 2000. Each summary contains information on a single year's overall climate conditions, sunshine, temperature, soil moisture, and temperature. 

Issues

2023: New Zealand’s second warmest year on record
2022: New Zealand’s warmest year on record, again.
2021: New Zealand’s warmest year on record
2020: New Zealand’s 7th-warmest year on record
2019: New Zealand’s 4th-warmest year on record
2018: New Zealand’s equal-2nd warmest year on record
A year of weather extremes across New Zealand
The year 2016: New Zealand’s warmest on record

The year 2015 was sunny for most of New Zealand, and drier than normal for some of the country.

Near normal rainfall and near average temperatures for most of the country.
Third-warmest year on record for New Zealand.
Slightly cooler than average for most areas .
The year 2011 will be remembered as one of extremes.

New Zealand national climate summary 2010: Settled and warm.

New Zealand’s climate for 2009 was characterised by frequent see-saws in temperature.
sunny and warm, but a rollercoaster year for extremes.
Much drier than average in many places, but disastrous floods in Northland. Drought, destructive tornadoes, windstorms, variable temperatures.
Severe winter snowstorms; floods, wind storms, destructive tornadoes; variable temperatures, yet sunny overall.
Much warmer, with more anticyclones and less wind than normal; very low rainfall in the South Island; catastrophic floods and extremely high rainfall in Bay of Plenty; destructive tornadoes; an unseasonable late snowstorm.
Very stormy at times; devastating floods and extremely high rainfall in several North Island regions; high winds and late winter blizzards; very wet in some areas and cool.
Many extreme events; record low rainfall and cool in parts of Otago; wet in Coromandel; record sunshine in the South Island and in the lower North Island.
Numerous extreme events and El Niño returns; low rainfall in Bay of Plenty; Marlborough and Nelson cool inland; mild in Waikato and the northern South Island; average or above average sunshine.
Extremely low annual rainfall in the eastern South Island and parts of the lower North Island, despite wet end-of-year conditions; severe summer–autumn drought, mid-winter freeze; many other extreme events.
A sunny and slightly warmer than normal year; very wet in Canterbury and Otago; more anticyclones but many extreme events.