Dunedin weather in March

In March, Dunedin sees average daytime highs of 17°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 59 mm of rain across 9.7 wet days and about 12.4 hours of daylight. It is the 3rd-warmest and 6th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 17°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in March, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 13 h 12 min at the start of March to 11 h 36 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, March is Dunedin's 7th-clearest and 6th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dunedin's year-round climate.

Daytime high
17°
3rd warmest
Overnight low
9th coldest
Rainfall
59 mm
9.7 wet days
Daylight
12 h 24 min
7:36 AM – 8:00 PM
Cloud cover
66%
7th clearest
Wind
13 km/h
6th windiest
Solar energy
3.86 kWh/m²
Travel score
5.5
out of 10

Dunedin is city in New Zealand's South Island.

Air quality
Good
PM10 18.1 µg/m³ · 2012
Density
40/km²
people per km²
Founded
1848

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

Temperature in March

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 17°C through the month.

A typical March day in Dunedin reaches about 17°C in the afternoon and slips back to 9°C overnight — a 8°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 13°C and 22°C. Set against its neighbours, March runs about 1°C cooler than February and about 2°C warmer than April.

10°15°20°25°151015202531
Avg high (°C)Avg low (°C)
11810
21810
3189
4189
5189
6189
7189
8189
9189
10179
11179
12179
13179
14179
15179
16179
17179
18179
19179
20179
21179
22179
23179
24179
25179
26178
27178
28178
29178
30178
31168

How March really feels in Dunedin

Once humidity and wind are folded in, March 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

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

Dunedin weather by month

How March compares with the rest of the year at a glance. March is the 3rd-warmest and 6th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

MonthHigh / Low (°C)Rainfall (mm)Wet daysDaylight (hours)Travel score
Jan19° / 10°9113.115.15.4
Feb19° / 10°7310.3145.7
Mar17° / 599.712.45.5
Apr15° / 549.310.74.5
May12° / 509.99.33.3
Jun10° / 469.38.52.1
Jul / 398.18.82.1
Aug11° / 419.110.12.6
Sep13° / 5010.611.73.4
Oct14° / 7413.613.33.8
Nov16° / 7713.514.74.3
Dec17° / 9614.415.54.8

Cloud cover in March

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 19% of the time in March.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 19% of March, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 61%.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Clearer (%)Cloudier (%)
13961
23961
33961
43862
53763
63862
73862
83862
93862
103862
113862
123862
133961
143862
153862
163862
173961
183961
193862
203862
213961
223961
233961
244060
254060
264060
274060
284060
294060
304060
314060

Chance of precipitation in March

Any precipitation

Dunedin gets around 59 mm of rain over 9.7 wet days in March. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 32% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days.

0%10%20%30%40%151015202531
Rain chance (%)
133
233
332
432
532
632
732
832
932
1032
1132
1233
1333
1433
1533
1633
1733
1833
1933
2032
2132
2232
2331
2431
2531
2630
2730
2830
2930
3030
3130

Humidity in March

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, March lands in the dry band about 90% of days. It rarely turns muggy — the humid and sticky bands barely register.

0%25%50%75%100%151015202531
Dry (%)Comfortable (%)Humid (%)
184142
285132
386122
486122
587121
688111
788111
889101
989101
1089101
1189101
1289101
1390100
1490100
1590100
1690100
1790100
189190
199190
209190
219190
229190
239190
249280
259280
269280
279370
289370
299460
309460
319550

Wind in March

Winds average 13 km/h in March.

Across March, daily wind ranges from about 13 km/h on the calmest days to 14 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

05101520151015202531
Wind speed (km/h)Feels
113light breeze
213light breeze
313light breeze
414light breeze
514light breeze
614light breeze
713light breeze
813light breeze
913light breeze
1013light breeze
1113light breeze
1213light breeze
1313light breeze
1413light breeze
1513light breeze
1613light breeze
1713light breeze
1813light breeze
1913light breeze
2013light breeze
2113light breeze
2213light breeze
2313light breeze
2413light breeze
2513light breeze
2613light breeze
2713light breeze
2813light breeze
2913light breeze
3013light breeze
3113light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in March

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 13 h 12 min at the start of March to 11 h 36 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 96 minutes over March. Sunrise moves from 7:15 AM to 7:56 AM, and sunset from 8:28 PM to 7:30 PM.

12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM151015202531
Daylight (h)Sunrise (AM)Sunset (PM)
113.27:158:28
213.27:168:26
313.17:178:24
413.17:198:22
513.07:208:21
612.97:228:19
712.97:238:17
812.87:258:15
912.87:268:13
1012.77:278:11
1112.77:298:09
1212.67:308:07
1312.67:318:05
1412.57:338:04
1512.57:348:02
1612.47:368:00
1712.37:377:58
1812.37:387:56
1912.27:407:54
2012.27:417:52
2112.17:427:50
2212.17:447:48
2312.07:457:46
2412.07:467:44
2511.97:487:42
2611.87:497:40
2711.87:507:38
2811.77:527:36
2911.77:537:34
3011.67:547:32
3111.67:567:30

Solar energy in March

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in March, about 3.86 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.22 kWh/m² to a high of 6.04 kWh/m² in January across the year — March's 3.86 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

024151015202531
Solar energy (kWh/m²)Level
14.5Bright
24.5Bright
34.4Bright
44.4Bright
54.3Bright
64.3Bright
74.3Bright
84.2Bright
94.2Bright
104.1Bright
114.1Bright
124.0Bright
134.0Moderate
144.0Moderate
153.9Moderate
163.9Moderate
173.8Moderate
183.8Moderate
193.8Moderate
203.7Moderate
213.7Moderate
223.6Moderate
233.6Moderate
243.6Moderate
253.5Moderate
263.5Moderate
273.4Moderate
283.4Moderate
293.4Moderate
303.3Moderate
313.3Moderate
Planning a trip in March

Is March a good time to visit Dunedin?

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

5.5
Sightseeing
2nd-best month of the year
1.4
Beach & pool
3rd-best month of the year

March is a reasonable time to visit Dunedin for sightseeing.

What to pack for Dunedin in March

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

In March, Dunedin sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 9°C. Worth packing: rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

rain gear

Sea temperature near Dunedin in March

The nearest coast averages about 14°C in March — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea offshore is warmest in February at about 14°C and coldest in August near 10°C.

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

8°10°12°14°16°JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecbracingcool
Sea temperature (°C)Comfort
Jan14Bracing
Feb14Bracing
Mar14Bracing
Apr13Bracing
May12Bracing
Jun11Bracing
Jul10Bracing
Aug10Bracing
Sep10Bracing
Oct11Bracing
Nov12Bracing
Dec13Bracing

UV index in Dunedin in March

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in March peaks around 5 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Dunedin peaks around January 15 at about 10 (very high) — 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 7 months of the year.

025710JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecVery highModerateLowModerateHighVery highJan 15UV 10Jun 17UV 1
UV index (midday)Level
Jan10Extreme
Feb9Very high
Mar5High
Apr3Moderate
May1Low
Jun1Low
Jul1Low
Aug2Moderate
Sep3Moderate
Oct5High
Nov8Very high
Dec9Very high
Location & terrain

Where is Dunedin?

Dunedin sits at 45.9°S, 170.5°E, 21 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Wanaka, 168 km away.

WanakaQueenstownTimaruInvercargillTekapoAshburtonFranz JosefRolleston

Topography around Dunedin

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Dunedin has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 286 m around an average of 73 m above sea level; within 16 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 790 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,463 m.

The land around Dunedin is covered by artificial surfaces (42%) and trees (38%) within 3 km, water (39%), trees (35%) and grassland (22%) within 16 km, and grassland (48%) and water (39%) within 80 km.

3 km
286 m
16 km
790 m
80 km
1,463 m
treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater
March weather nearby: Wanaka 168 km · Queenstown 172 km · Timaru 175 km · Invercargill 176 km · Tekapo 208 km · Ashburton 240 km · Franz Josef 277 km · Rolleston 295 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 Dunedin (-45.8742°, 170.5036°, elevation 21 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).