Christchurch in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Christchurch sees average daytime highs around 10°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 158 mm of rain over about 26 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 10°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Christchurch's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Christchurch's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 10°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 6°C
- Rainfall
- 158 mm
- 26 wet days
- Avg wind
- 14 km/h
- Travel score
- 2.4
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Christchurch in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 10°C.
A typical winter day in Christchurch reaches about 10°C and drops to 6°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest July.
Christchurch weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19° / 14° | 49 | 8.1 | 14.9 | 6.3 |
| Feb | 19° / 14° | 39 | 6.6 | 13.8 | 6.5 |
| Mar | 17° / 13° | 45 | 6.8 | 12.4 | 6.1 |
| Apr | 15° / 10° | 52 | 8.8 | 10.8 | 4.8 |
| May | 13° / 8° | 48 | 8.2 | 9.5 | 3.8 |
| Jun | 11° / 6° | 58 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 2.6 |
| Jul | 10° / 5° | 52 | 8.4 | 9.1 | 2.2 |
| Aug | 10° / 6° | 48 | 8.8 | 10.2 | 2.5 |
| Sep | 12° / 7° | 43 | 8.1 | 11.7 | 3.3 |
| Oct | 14° / 9° | 48 | 9.4 | 13.2 | 4.1 |
| Nov | 16° / 10° | 49 | 9 | 14.5 | 4.9 |
| Dec | 17° / 12° | 53 | 9.4 | 15.2 | 5.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Christchurch gets around 158 mm of rain over 26 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 14 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 hours in early June to 10 h 54 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 1.9 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Christchurch?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Christchurch.
What to pack for Christchurch in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Christchurch sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 6°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 26 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Christchurch in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 10°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 22 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.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 17 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 15 |
| Comfort | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17 | Cool |
| Feb | 17 | Cool |
| Mar | 16 | Cool |
| Apr | 14 | Bracing |
| May | 13 | Bracing |
| Jun | 11 | Bracing |
| Jul | 10 | Bracing |
| Aug | 9 | Bracing |
| Sep | 10 | Bracing |
| Oct | 12 | Bracing |
| Nov | 14 | Bracing |
| Dec | 15 | Cool |
UV index in Christchurch in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Christchurch peaks around January 15 at about 11 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 1 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 11 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Level | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | Extreme |
| Feb | 10 | Very high |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 2 | Low |
| Jun | 1 | Low |
| Jul | 2 | Low |
| Aug | 2 | Moderate |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 8 | Very high |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Air quality in Christchurch in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Christchurch is worst in February — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 2.5× the cleanest month (May, 7 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Christchurch's WHO annual average of 10.2 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 10 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Level | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 10 | Good |
| Feb | 17 | Moderate |
| Mar | 14 | Moderate |
| Apr | 8 | Good |
| May | 7 | Good |
| Jun | 7 | Good |
| Jul | 9 | Good |
| Aug | 10 | Good |
| Sep | 11 | Good |
| Oct | 10 | Good |
| Nov | 10 | Good |
| Dec | 10 | Good |
Where is Christchurch?
Christchurch sits at 43.5°S, 172.6°E, 14 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Rolleston, 21 km away.
Topography around Christchurch
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Christchurch.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Christchurch has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 26 m around an average of 10 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 547 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,955 m.
The land around Christchurch is covered by artificial surfaces (74%) within 3 km, grassland (33%) and water (22%) within 16 km, and water (43%) and grassland (34%) within 80 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
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 Christchurch (-43.5333°, 172.6333°, elevation 14 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.