Ashburton weather in August

In August, Ashburton sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 58 mm of precipitation across 9.4 wet days and about 10.2 hours of daylight. It is the 10th-warmest and 7th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 12°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in August, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 30 min at the start of August to 10 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, August is Ashburton's 4th-clearest and 9th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Ashburton's year-round climate.

Daytime high
12°
10th warmest
Overnight low
3rd coldest
Precipitation
58 mm
9.4 wet days
Daylight
10 h 12 min
8:32 AM – 6:42 PM
Cloud cover
56%
4th clearest
Wind
12 km/h
9th windiest
Solar energy
2.48 kWh/m²
Travel score
3.1
out of 10

Ashburton is town in New Zealand's South Island.

Air quality
Good
PM10 21.2 µg/m³ · 2012
Density
569/km²
people per km²

Air quality: WHO Ambient Air Quality Database. Density & description: Wikidata (CC0), GeoNames.

Temperature in August

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 12°C through the month.

A typical August day in Ashburton reaches about 12°C in the afternoon and slips back to 4°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 8°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs about 1°C warmer than July and about 2°C cooler than September.

-5°10°15°20°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
1113
2113
3113
4113
5113
6113
7113
8113
9113
10113
11113
12113
13114
14114
15114
16114
17124
18124
19124
20124
21124
22124
23124
24124
25124
26124
27124
28124
29124
30125
31135

How August really feels in Ashburton

Once humidity and wind are folded in, August averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C
0
heat index over the day's high
Days feeling ≤ C
0
wind chill below the day's low

August sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.

Ashburton weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 10th-warmest and 7th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan20° / 13°589.214.96.4
Feb20° / 12°517.313.86.6
Mar19° / 11°517.412.46.4
Apr16° / 599.410.85.2
May14° / 528.29.54.1
Jun11° / 588.78.82.7
Jul10° / 578.29.12.5
Aug12° / 589.410.23.1
Sep14° / 498.711.74.1
Oct15° / 5810.713.24.6
Nov17° / 6610.814.55.2
Dec19° / 11°661115.25.8

Cloud cover in August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time in August.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 16% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 49%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
15248
25149
35149
45050
55050
65050
75050
85050
94951
104951
114951
125050
135050
145050
155050
165050
175149
185149
195050
205050
215050
225248
235248
245149
255248
265248
275149
285149
295149
305149
315050

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitation

Ashburton gets around 58 mm of rain and snow over 9.4 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 31% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
127
227
328
428
529
629
730
831
931
1032
1132
1233
1333
1433
1533
1633
1733
1833
1932
2032
2132
2231
2331
2430
2530
2629
2729
2829
2929
3029
3129

Humidity in August

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

Most of August feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.

By dew point, August lands in the dry band about 100% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)
1100
2100
3100
4100
5100
6100
7100
8100
9100
10100
11100
12100
13100
14100
15100
16100
17100
18100
19100
20100
21100
22100
23100
24100
25100
26100
27100
28100
29100
30100
31100

Wind in August

Winds average 12 km/h in August.

Across August, daily wind ranges from about 11 km/h on the calmest days to 12 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

051015151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
111calm
211calm
311calm
411calm
511calm
611calm
711calm
811calm
911calm
1011calm
1112calm
1212calm
1312calm
1412calm
1512calm
1612calm
1712calm
1812calm
1912calm
2012calm
2112calm
2212calm
2312calm
2412calm
2512calm
2612calm
2712calm
2812light breeze
2912light breeze
3012light breeze
3112light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in August

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 30 min at the start of August to 10 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over August. Sunrise moves from 8:53 AM to 8:06 AM, and sunset from 6:25 PM to 7:00 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
19.58:536:25
29.68:526:26
39.68:516:27
49.78:496:29
59.78:486:30
69.78:476:31
79.88:456:32
89.88:446:33
99.98:436:34
109.98:416:35
119.98:406:36
1210.08:386:38
1310.08:376:39
1410.18:356:40
1510.18:346:41
1610.28:326:42
1710.28:316:43
1810.38:296:45
1910.38:276:46
2010.48:266:47
2110.48:246:48
2210.48:226:49
2310.58:216:50
2410.58:196:52
2510.68:176:53
2610.68:156:54
2710.78:146:55
2810.78:126:56
2910.88:106:57
3010.88:086:59
3110.98:067:00

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 2.48 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.43 kWh/m² to a high of 6.6 kWh/m² in January across the year — August's 2.48 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

01234151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
12.0Dim
22.0Moderate
32.0Moderate
42.1Moderate
52.1Moderate
62.1Moderate
72.2Moderate
82.2Moderate
92.2Moderate
102.3Moderate
112.3Moderate
122.3Moderate
132.4Moderate
142.4Moderate
152.4Moderate
162.5Moderate
172.5Moderate
182.5Moderate
192.6Moderate
202.6Moderate
212.7Moderate
222.7Moderate
232.8Moderate
242.8Moderate
252.8Moderate
262.9Moderate
272.9Moderate
283.0Moderate
293.0Moderate
303.0Moderate
313.1Moderate
Planning a trip in August

Is August a good time to visit Ashburton?

Our two travel scores rate August for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal).

3.1
Sightseeing
10th-best month of the year
0.0
Beach & pool
10th-best month of the year

August is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Ashburton.

What to pack for Ashburton in August

From August's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.

In August, Ashburton sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 9 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Ashburton in August

The nearest coast averages about 9°C in August — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 27 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°C and coldest in August near 9°C.

The water stays below 20°C all year — cool enough that most swimmers want a wetsuit.

10°15°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan17Cool
Feb17Cool
Mar16Cool
Apr14Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun10Bracing
Jul9Bracing
Aug9Bracing
Sep10Bracing
Oct11Bracing
Nov14Bracing
Dec15Cool

UV index in Ashburton in August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Ashburton peaks around January 16 at about 10 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 16 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecExtremeVery highModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 16UV 10Jun 16UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan11Extreme
Feb10Very high
Mar6High
Apr3Moderate
May2Low
Jun1Low
Jul2Low
Aug2Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct6High
Nov8Very high
Dec10Very high
Location & terrain

Where is Ashburton?

Ashburton sits at 43.9°S, 171.7°E, 106 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Rolleston, 63 km away.

RangioraTekapoFranz JosefWanakaKaikoura

Topography around Ashburton

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Ashburton.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Ashburton has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 42 m around an average of 103 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 195 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,287 m.

The land around Ashburton is covered by grassland (40%) and artificial surfaces (25%) within 3 km, grassland (50%) and cropland (42%) within 16 km, and grassland (46%) and water (27%) within 80 km.

3 km
42 m
16 km
195 m
80 km
2,287 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
August weather nearby: Rolleston 63 km · Timaru 67 km · Christchurch 83 km · Rangiora 95 km · Tekapo 101 km · Franz Josef 137 km · Wanaka 224 km · Kaikoura 229 km

New Zealand travel facts

Travel advisory
Level 1
Exercise Normal Precautions
Power plugs
Type I
230 V · 50 Hz
Prices
≈ 86% of US
price level, 2025
GDP per capita
$49,591
2025
Happiness
7.0 / 10
World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water
100%
of population, 2024
Homicide rate
1.5
per 100k, 2022
Road deaths
9.6
per 100k/yr, 2019
Income group
High
World Bank
Religion
no religion 49%Christian 37%objected to answering 7%Hindu 3%

Sources: World Bank, US State Department, World Happiness Report, WHO/UNICEF, EF EPI, CIA World Factbook.

Data sources

Temperature, precipitation, cloud, humidity, wind and solar figures are a 1991–2020 climatology for Ashburton (-43.8983°, 171.7301°, elevation 106 m), computed from hourly ERA5 reanalysis — contains modified Copernicus Climate Change Service information. Sun figures are astronomical calculations, not observations. City data © GeoNames, CC BY 4.0. Map outlines from Natural Earth (public domain); interactive map © Google. Sea temperatures are the NOAA OISST v2.1 1991–2020 monthly climatology (public domain), sampled at the nearest ocean point. UV index is derived from CAMS (Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service) clear-sky UV data — contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information. Topography is sampled from the Copernicus DEM GLO-90 elevation model (© ESA/Airbus) and ESA WorldCover 2021 land cover (CC BY 4.0).