Dunedin weather in May

In May, Dunedin sees average daytime highs of 12°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 50 mm of precipitation across 9.9 wet days and about 9.3 hours of daylight. It is the 9th-warmest and 8th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 11°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in May, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 54 min at the start of May to 8 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, May is Dunedin's 4th-clearest and 11th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dunedin's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 12°; 9th warmest
Overnight low: 4°; 5th coldest
Precipitation: 50 mm; 9.9 wet days
Daylight: 9 h 18 min; 8:56 AM – 6:12 PM
Cloud cover: 62%; 4th clearest
Wind: 13 km/h; 11th windiest
Solar energy: 1.62 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.3; 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.

← April Dunedin year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Temperature in May

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 11°C by the end.

A typical May day in Dunedin 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 9°C and 16°C. Set against its neighbours, May runs about 3°C cooler than April and about 3°C warmer than June.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Avg high (°C)	14	14	14	14	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Avg low (°C)	6	6	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	3	3	3	3	3

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	14	6
2	14	6
3	14	5
4	14	5
5	13	5
6	13	5
7	13	5
8	13	5
9	13	5
10	13	5
11	13	5
12	13	5
13	13	5
14	13	5
15	12	5
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	12	4
22	12	4
23	12	4
24	11	4
25	11	4
26	11	4
27	11	3
28	11	3
29	11	3
30	11	3
31	11	3

How May really feels in Dunedin

Once humidity and wind are folded in, May averages 0 days that feel above 32°C and 3 that feel at or below 0°C — the comfort signal a plain temperature reading hides.

Days feeling ≥ 32°C

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

The story in May is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.

Dunedin weather by month

How May compares with the rest of the year at a glance. May is the 9th-warmest and 8th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	19° / 10°	91	13.1	15.1	5.4
Feb	19° / 10°	73	10.3	14	5.7
Mar	17° / 9°	59	9.7	12.4	5.5
Apr	15° / 7°	54	9.3	10.7	4.5
May	12° / 4°	50	9.9	9.3	3.3
Jun	10° / 2°	46	9.3	8.5	2.1
Jul	9° / 1°	39	8.1	8.8	2.1
Aug	11° / 2°	41	9.1	10.1	2.6
Sep	13° / 4°	50	10.6	11.7	3.4
Oct	14° / 6°	74	13.6	13.3	3.8
Nov	16° / 7°	77	13.5	14.7	4.3
Dec	17° / 9°	96	14.4	15.5	4.8

Cloud cover in May

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time in May.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 21% of May, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 55%.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Clearer (%)	46	46	46	46	46	47	47	47	47	47	46	46	45	45	45	45	44	44	43	43	43	43	43	44	44	44	45	46	47	47	47
Cloudier (%)	54	54	54	54	54	53	53	53	53	53	54	54	55	55	55	55	56	56	57	57	57	57	57	56	56	56	55	54	53	53	53

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	46	54
2	46	54
3	46	54
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	46	54
12	46	54
13	45	55
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	46	54
29	47	53
30	47	53
31	47	53

Chance of precipitation in May

Any precipitation

Dunedin gets around 50 mm of rain and snow over 9.9 wet days in May. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 32% and peaks near 33% on the wettest days, and about 0 day brings snow.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Rain chance (%)	30	30	30	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	32	33	33	33	33	33

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	31
5	31
6	31
7	32
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	33
13	33
14	33
15	32
16	32
17	32
18	32
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

Humidity in May

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

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

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Dry (%)	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

Wind in May

Winds average 13 km/h in May.

Across May, daily wind ranges from about 12 km/h on the calmest days to 13 km/h at its breeziest. It stays fairly steady from day to day.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Wind speed (km/h)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13
Feels	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze	light breeze

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	12	light breeze
2	12	light breeze
3	12	light breeze
4	12	light breeze
5	12	light breeze
6	12	light breeze
7	12	light breeze
8	12	light breeze
9	12	light breeze
10	12	light breeze
11	12	light breeze
12	12	light breeze
13	13	light breeze
14	13	light breeze
15	13	light breeze
16	13	light breeze
17	13	light breeze
18	13	light breeze
19	13	light breeze
20	13	light breeze
21	13	light breeze
22	13	light breeze
23	13	light breeze
24	13	light breeze
25	13	light breeze
26	13	light breeze
27	13	light breeze
28	13	light breeze
29	13	light breeze
30	13	light breeze
31	13	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in May

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 54 min at the start of May to 8 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 66 minutes over May. Sunrise moves from 8:37 AM to 9:12 AM, and sunset from 6:33 PM to 5:58 PM.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Daylight (h)	9.9	9.9	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.4	9.4	9.4	9.3	9.3	9.2	9.2	9.2	9.1	9.1	9.0	9.0	9.0	8.9	8.9	8.9	8.9	8.8	8.8	8.8
Sunrise (AM)	8:37	8:38	8:40	8:41	8:42	8:44	8:45	8:46	8:47	8:49	8:50	8:51	8:52	8:54	8:55	8:56	8:57	8:58	9:00	9:01	9:02	9:03	9:04	9:05	9:06	9:07	9:08	9:09	9:10	9:11	9:12
Sunset (PM)	6:33	6:32	6:30	6:29	6:27	6:26	6:24	6:23	6:21	6:20	6:19	6:17	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:12	6:11	6:10	6:09	6:08	6:07	6:06	6:05	6:04	6:03	6:02	6:01	6:01	6:00	5:59	5:58

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.9	8:37	6:33
2	9.9	8:38	6:32
3	9.8	8:40	6:30
4	9.8	8:41	6:29
5	9.7	8:42	6:27
6	9.7	8:44	6:26
7	9.7	8:45	6:24
8	9.6	8:46	6:23
9	9.6	8:47	6:21
10	9.5	8:49	6:20
11	9.5	8:50	6:19
12	9.4	8:51	6:17
13	9.4	8:52	6:16
14	9.4	8:54	6:15
15	9.3	8:55	6:14
16	9.3	8:56	6:12
17	9.2	8:57	6:11
18	9.2	8:58	6:10
19	9.2	9:00	6:09
20	9.1	9:01	6:08
21	9.1	9:02	6:07
22	9.0	9:03	6:06
23	9.0	9:04	6:05
24	9.0	9:05	6:04
25	8.9	9:06	6:03
26	8.9	9:07	6:02
27	8.9	9:08	6:01
28	8.9	9:09	6:01
29	8.8	9:10	6:00
30	8.8	9:11	5:59
31	8.8	9:12	5:58

Solar energy in May

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in May, about 1.62 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 — May's 1.62 kWh/m² sits near the bottom.

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	2.0	2.0	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.9	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.8	1.7	1.7	1.7	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.6	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.5	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.4	1.3	1.3
Level	Moderate	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim	Dim

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.0	Moderate
2	2.0	Dim
3	1.9	Dim
4	1.9	Dim
5	1.9	Dim
6	1.9	Dim
7	1.8	Dim
8	1.8	Dim
9	1.8	Dim
10	1.8	Dim
11	1.7	Dim
12	1.7	Dim
13	1.7	Dim
14	1.6	Dim
15	1.6	Dim
16	1.6	Dim
17	1.6	Dim
18	1.6	Dim
19	1.5	Dim
20	1.5	Dim
21	1.5	Dim
22	1.5	Dim
23	1.4	Dim
24	1.4	Dim
25	1.4	Dim
26	1.4	Dim
27	1.4	Dim
28	1.4	Dim
29	1.4	Dim
30	1.3	Dim
31	1.3	Dim

Planning a trip in May

Is May a good time to visit Dunedin?

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

3.3

Sightseeing

9th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

8th-best month of the year

May is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Dunedin.

What to pack for Dunedin in May

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

In May, Dunedin sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 4°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Dunedin in May

The nearest coast averages about 12°C in May — 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Sea temperature (°C)	14	14	14	13	12	11	10	10	10	11	12	13
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	14	Bracing
Feb	14	Bracing
Mar	14	Bracing
Apr	13	Bracing
May	12	Bracing
Jun	11	Bracing
Jul	10	Bracing
Aug	10	Bracing
Sep	10	Bracing
Oct	11	Bracing
Nov	12	Bracing
Dec	13	Bracing

UV index in Dunedin in May

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in May peaks around 1. 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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	10	9	5	3	1	1	1	2	3	5	8	9
Level	Extreme	Very high	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Very high

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	10	Extreme
Feb	9	Very high
Mar	5	High
Apr	3	Moderate
May	1	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	1	Low
Aug	2	Moderate
Sep	3	Moderate
Oct	5	High
Nov	8	Very high
Dec	9	Very 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.

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

artificial surfaces 42%

16 km

790 m

water 39%

80 km

1,463 m

grassland 48%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← April Dunedin year-round climate June →Best places to visit in May

May 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

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).

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	14	6
2	14	6
3	14	5
4	14	5
5	13	5
6	13	5
7	13	5
8	13	5
9	13	5
10	13	5
11	13	5
12	13	5
13	13	5
14	13	5
15	12	5
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	12	4
22	12	4
23	12	4
24	11	4
25	11	4
26	11	4
27	11	3
28	11	3
29	11	3
30	11	3
31	11	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	46	54
2	46	54
3	46	54
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	46	54
12	46	54
13	45	55
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	46	54
29	47	53
30	47	53
31	47	53

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	31
5	31
6	31
7	32
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	33
13	33
14	33
15	32
16	32
17	32
18	32
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	14	6
2	14	6
3	14	5
4	14	5
5	13	5
6	13	5
7	13	5
8	13	5
9	13	5
10	13	5
11	13	5
12	13	5
13	13	5
14	13	5
15	12	5
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	12	4
22	12	4
23	12	4
24	11	4
25	11	4
26	11	4
27	11	3
28	11	3
29	11	3
30	11	3
31	11	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	46	54
2	46	54
3	46	54
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	46	54
12	46	54
13	45	55
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	46	54
29	47	53
30	47	53
31	47	53

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	31
5	31
6	31
7	32
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	33
13	33
14	33
15	32
16	32
17	32
18	32
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100

	Avg high (°C)	Avg low (°C)
1	14	6
2	14	6
3	14	5
4	14	5
5	13	5
6	13	5
7	13	5
8	13	5
9	13	5
10	13	5
11	13	5
12	13	5
13	13	5
14	13	5
15	12	5
16	12	4
17	12	4
18	12	4
19	12	4
20	12	4
21	12	4
22	12	4
23	12	4
24	11	4
25	11	4
26	11	4
27	11	3
28	11	3
29	11	3
30	11	3
31	11	3

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	46	54
2	46	54
3	46	54
4	46	54
5	46	54
6	47	53
7	47	53
8	47	53
9	47	53
10	47	53
11	46	54
12	46	54
13	45	55
14	45	55
15	45	55
16	45	55
17	44	56
18	44	56
19	43	57
20	43	57
21	43	57
22	43	57
23	43	57
24	44	56
25	44	56
26	44	56
27	45	55
28	46	54
29	47	53
30	47	53
31	47	53

	Rain chance (%)
1	30
2	30
3	30
4	31
5	31
6	31
7	32
8	32
9	32
10	32
11	32
12	33
13	33
14	33
15	32
16	32
17	32
18	32
19	32
20	32
21	32
22	32
23	32
24	32
25	32
26	32
27	33
28	33
29	33
30	33
31	33

	Dry (%)
1	100
2	100
3	100
4	100
5	100
6	100
7	100
8	100
9	100
10	100
11	100
12	100
13	100
14	100
15	100
16	100
17	100
18	100
19	100
20	100
21	100
22	100
23	100
24	100
25	100
26	100
27	100
28	100
29	100
30	100
31	100