Dunedin weather in October

In October, Dunedin sees average daytime highs of 14°C and overnight lows near 6°C, with 74 mm of rain across 13.6 wet days and about 13.3 hours of daylight. It is the 7th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 15°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 30 min at the start of October to 14 h 06 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Dunedin's 9th-clearest and 3rd-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Dunedin's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 14°; 7th warmest
Overnight low: 6°; 6th coldest
Rainfall: 74 mm; 13.6 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 18 min; 6:43 AM – 8:03 PM
Cloud cover: 70%; 9th clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 3rd windiest
Solar energy: 4.71 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.8; 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.

← September Dunedin year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

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

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs climb over the month, from about 14°C in the first days to 15°C by the end.

A typical October day in Dunedin reaches about 14°C in the afternoon and slips back to 6°C overnight — a 9°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 10°C and 19°C. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 2°C warmer than September and about 1°C cooler than November.

	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	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15
Avg low (°C)	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	5	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7

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

How October really feels in Dunedin

Once humidity and wind are folded in, October 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

heat index over the day's high

Days feeling ≤ 0°C

wind chill below the day's low

October 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 October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 7th-warmest and 4th-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 October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 14% of the time in October.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 20% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 67%.

	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 (%)	34	34	34	35	34	33	33	32	32	32	34	34	33	34	33	33	33	34	33	33	33	32	32	32	33	33	33	33	33	33	33
Cloudier (%)	66	66	66	65	66	67	67	68	68	68	66	66	67	66	67	67	67	66	67	67	67	68	68	68	67	67	67	67	67	67	67

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	35	65
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	33	67
14	34	66
15	33	67
16	33	67
17	33	67
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitation

Dunedin gets around 74 mm of rain over 13.6 wet days in October. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 44% and peaks near 46% on the wettest days.

	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 (%)	41	42	42	42	43	43	44	44	45	45	46	46	46	46	46	46	45	45	45	44	44	44	44	43	43	43	43	42	42	42	42

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	42
3	42
4	42
5	43
6	43
7	44
8	44
9	45
10	45
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	46
17	45
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	44
22	44
23	44
24	43
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, October 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	99	99	99	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

Wind in October

Winds average 14 km/h in October.

Across October, daily wind ranges from about 14 km/h on the calmest days to 15 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)	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
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	14	light breeze
2	14	light breeze
3	14	light breeze
4	15	light breeze
5	15	light breeze
6	15	light breeze
7	15	light breeze
8	15	light breeze
9	15	light breeze
10	15	light breeze
11	15	light breeze
12	15	light breeze
13	15	light breeze
14	15	light breeze
15	15	light breeze
16	15	light breeze
17	15	light breeze
18	15	light breeze
19	14	light breeze
20	14	light breeze
21	14	light breeze
22	14	light breeze
23	14	light breeze
24	14	light breeze
25	14	light breeze
26	14	light breeze
27	14	light breeze
28	14	light breeze
29	14	light breeze
30	14	light breeze
31	14	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 30 min at the start of October to 14 h 06 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 96 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 7:12 AM to 6:19 AM, and sunset from 7:42 PM to 8:24 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)	12.5	12.6	12.6	12.7	12.7	12.8	12.8	12.9	12.9	13.0	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.8	13.8	13.9	13.9	14.0	14.0	14.1
Sunrise (AM)	7:12	7:10	7:08	7:06	7:04	7:02	7:00	6:58	6:56	6:54	6:52	6:51	6:49	6:47	6:45	6:43	6:41	6:40	6:38	6:36	6:35	6:33	6:31	6:30	6:28	6:26	6:25	6:23	6:22	6:20	6:19
Sunset (PM)	7:42	7:44	7:45	7:46	7:48	7:49	7:50	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:56	7:57	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:03	8:04	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:10	8:11	8:13	8:14	8:16	8:17	8:18	8:20	8:21	8:23	8:24

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.5	7:12	7:42
2	12.6	7:10	7:44
3	12.6	7:08	7:45
4	12.7	7:06	7:46
5	12.7	7:04	7:48
6	12.8	7:02	7:49
7	12.8	7:00	7:50
8	12.9	6:58	7:52
9	12.9	6:56	7:53
10	13.0	6:54	7:54
11	13.1	6:52	7:56
12	13.1	6:51	7:57
13	13.2	6:49	7:59
14	13.2	6:47	8:00
15	13.3	6:45	8:01
16	13.3	6:43	8:03
17	13.4	6:41	8:04
18	13.4	6:40	8:06
19	13.5	6:38	8:07
20	13.5	6:36	8:08
21	13.6	6:35	8:10
22	13.6	6:33	8:11
23	13.7	6:31	8:13
24	13.7	6:30	8:14
25	13.8	6:28	8:16
26	13.8	6:26	8:17
27	13.9	6:25	8:18
28	13.9	6:23	8:20
29	14.0	6:22	8:21
30	14.0	6:20	8:23
31	14.1	6:19	8:24

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 4.71 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 — October's 4.71 kWh/m² falls in the middle.

	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)	4.1	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.4	4.4	4.4	4.5	4.5	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.2	5.2	5.3	5.3
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.1	Bright
2	4.2	Bright
3	4.2	Bright
4	4.2	Bright
5	4.3	Bright
6	4.3	Bright
7	4.4	Bright
8	4.4	Bright
9	4.4	Bright
10	4.5	Bright
11	4.5	Bright
12	4.6	Bright
13	4.6	Bright
14	4.7	Bright
15	4.7	Bright
16	4.7	Bright
17	4.8	Bright
18	4.8	Bright
19	4.9	Bright
20	4.9	Bright
21	4.9	Bright
22	5.0	Bright
23	5.0	Bright
24	5.0	Bright
25	5.1	Bright
26	5.1	Bright
27	5.2	Bright
28	5.2	Bright
29	5.2	Bright
30	5.3	Bright
31	5.3	Bright

Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Dunedin?

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

3.8

Sightseeing

7th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

October is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Dunedin.

What to pack for Dunedin in October

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

In October, Dunedin sees daytime highs around 14°C and nights near 6°C. Worth packing: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 14 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Dunedin in October

The nearest coast averages about 11°C in October — 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 October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October 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.

	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

← September Dunedin year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	35	65
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	33	67
14	34	66
15	33	67
16	33	67
17	33	67
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	42
3	42
4	42
5	43
6	43
7	44
8	44
9	45
10	45
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	46
17	45
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	44
22	44
23	44
24	43
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	35	65
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	33	67
14	34	66
15	33	67
16	33	67
17	33	67
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	42
3	42
4	42
5	43
6	43
7	44
8	44
9	45
10	45
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	46
17	45
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	44
22	44
23	44
24	43
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	34	66
2	34	66
3	34	66
4	35	65
5	34	66
6	33	67
7	33	67
8	32	68
9	32	68
10	32	68
11	34	66
12	34	66
13	33	67
14	34	66
15	33	67
16	33	67
17	33	67
18	34	66
19	33	67
20	33	67
21	33	67
22	32	68
23	32	68
24	32	68
25	33	67
26	33	67
27	33	67
28	33	67
29	33	67
30	33	67
31	33	67

	Rain chance (%)
1	41
2	42
3	42
4	42
5	43
6	43
7	44
8	44
9	45
10	45
11	46
12	46
13	46
14	46
15	46
16	46
17	45
18	45
19	45
20	44
21	44
22	44
23	44
24	43
25	43
26	43
27	43
28	42
29	42
30	42
31	42

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	100	0
20	100	0
21	100	0
22	100	0
23	100	0
24	100	0
25	100	0
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1
31	99	1