Kaikoura weather in April

In April, Kaikoura sees average daytime highs of 15°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 80 mm of rain across 10.1 wet days and about 10.9 hours of daylight. It is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month of the year here.

Highs ease over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 14°C by the end. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 41% of the time in April, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 11 h 36 min at the start of April to 10 h 12 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, April is Kaikoura's 3rd-clearest and 12th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kaikoura's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 15°; 5th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 8th coldest
Rainfall: 80 mm; 10.1 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 54 min; 8:00 AM – 6:51 PM
Cloud cover: 54%; 3rd clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 12th windiest
Solar energy: 3.1 kWh/m²
Travel score: 4.5; out of 10

Kaikoura is town in New Zealand.

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

← March Kaikoura year-round climate May →Best places to visit in April

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

Temperature in April

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Highs ease over the month, from about 16°C in the first days to 14°C by the end.

A typical April day in Kaikoura reaches about 15°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 12°C and 18°C. Set against its neighbours, April runs about 2°C cooler than March and about 2°C warmer than May.

	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
Avg high (°C)	16	16	16	16	16	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14
Avg low (°C)	12	12	12	12	12	12	12	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	10	10	10

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

Kaikoura weather by month

How April compares with the rest of the year at a glance. April is the 5th-warmest and 4th-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Snow days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	18° / 14°	69	10.1	0	14.7	5.9
Feb	18° / 14°	60	8.6	0	13.7	6.1
Mar	17° / 13°	70	9.2	0	12.4	5.6
Apr	15° / 11°	80	10.1	0	10.9	4.5
May	13° / 9°	69	10.2	0.2	9.6	3.7
Jun	11° / 7°	96	11.6	0.8	9	2.5
Jul	10° / 6°	93	11.8	1.1	9.2	2.1
Aug	10° / 7°	79	11.3	0.9	10.3	2.4
Sep	12° / 8°	65	9.8	0.5	11.7	3.1
Oct	13° / 9°	82	12.5	0.4	13.2	3.6
Nov	15° / 11°	71	10.8	0	14.4	4.4
Dec	17° / 13°	65	11.2	0	15	5.2

Cloud cover in April

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 41% of the time in April.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 13% of April, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 46%.

	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
Clearer (%)	54	53	53	53	52	52	52	52	53	53	53	53	54	54	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	55	54	54	54	53	53	53	53
Cloudier (%)	46	47	47	47	48	48	48	48	47	47	47	47	46	46	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	45	46	46	46	47	47	47	47

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	55	45
18	55	45
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47

Chance of precipitation in April

Any precipitation

Kaikoura gets around 80 mm of rain over 10.1 wet days in April. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 33% and peaks near 36% 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
Rain chance (%)	31	32	32	33	34	35	35	36	36	36	36	36	36	35	35	34	33	33	32	32	31	31	31	31	32	32	32	32	32	32

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	32
20	32
21	31
22	31
23	31
24	31
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32

Humidity in April

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, April lands in the dry band about 95% 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
Dry (%)	84	85	86	87	89	90	92	93	94	95	96	96	97	97	97	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	98	99	99	99	99	99	99	99
Comfortable (%)	16	15	14	13	11	10	8	7	6	5	4	4	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	84	16
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	87	13
5	89	11
6	90	10
7	92	8
8	93	7
9	94	6
10	95	5
11	96	4
12	96	4
13	97	3
14	97	3
15	97	3
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1

Wind in April

Winds average 14 km/h in April, the calmest month.

Across April, 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.

	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
Wind speed (km/h)	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	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

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	14	light breeze
2	14	light breeze
3	14	light breeze
4	14	light breeze
5	14	light breeze
6	14	light breeze
7	14	light breeze
8	14	light breeze
9	14	light breeze
10	14	light breeze
11	14	light breeze
12	14	light breeze
13	14	light breeze
14	14	light breeze
15	14	light breeze
16	14	light breeze
17	14	light breeze
18	14	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	13	light breeze
28	13	light breeze
29	13	light breeze
30	13	light breeze

Sunrise & sunset in April

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 11 h 36 min at the start of April to 10 h 12 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days shrink by about 84 minutes over April. Sunrise moves from 7:43 AM to 8:16 AM, and sunset from 7:17 PM to 6:29 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
Daylight (h)	11.6	11.5	11.5	11.4	11.4	11.3	11.3	11.2	11.2	11.1	11.1	11.0	11.0	10.9	10.9	10.9	10.8	10.8	10.7	10.7	10.6	10.6	10.5	10.5	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.3	10.3	10.2
Sunrise (AM)	7:43	7:44	7:45	7:46	7:47	7:49	7:50	7:51	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:55	7:57	7:58	7:59	8:00	8:01	8:02	8:03	8:05	8:06	8:07	8:08	8:09	8:10	8:11	8:13	8:14	8:15	8:16
Sunset (PM)	7:17	7:15	7:13	7:12	7:10	7:08	7:06	7:05	7:03	7:01	6:59	6:58	6:56	6:54	6:53	6:51	6:49	6:48	6:46	6:44	6:43	6:41	6:40	6:38	6:37	6:35	6:34	6:32	6:31	6:29

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	11.6	7:43	7:17
2	11.5	7:44	7:15
3	11.5	7:45	7:13
4	11.4	7:46	7:12
5	11.4	7:47	7:10
6	11.3	7:49	7:08
7	11.3	7:50	7:06
8	11.2	7:51	7:05
9	11.2	7:52	7:03
10	11.1	7:53	7:01
11	11.1	7:54	6:59
12	11.0	7:55	6:58
13	11.0	7:57	6:56
14	10.9	7:58	6:54
15	10.9	7:59	6:53
16	10.9	8:00	6:51
17	10.8	8:01	6:49
18	10.8	8:02	6:48
19	10.7	8:03	6:46
20	10.7	8:05	6:44
21	10.6	8:06	6:43
22	10.6	8:07	6:41
23	10.5	8:08	6:40
24	10.5	8:09	6:38
25	10.4	8:10	6:37
26	10.4	8:11	6:35
27	10.4	8:13	6:34
28	10.3	8:14	6:32
29	10.3	8:15	6:31
30	10.2	8:16	6:29

Solar energy in April

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in April, about 3.1 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.56 kWh/m² to a high of 7.08 kWh/m² in January across the year — April's 3.1 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
Solar energy (kWh/m²)	3.8	3.7	3.7	3.6	3.5	3.5	3.4	3.4	3.4	3.3	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.1	3.1	3.1	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.9	2.9	2.9	2.8	2.8	2.8	2.7	2.7	2.6	2.6	2.5
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	3.8	Moderate
2	3.7	Moderate
3	3.7	Moderate
4	3.6	Moderate
5	3.5	Moderate
6	3.5	Moderate
7	3.4	Moderate
8	3.4	Moderate
9	3.4	Moderate
10	3.3	Moderate
11	3.3	Moderate
12	3.2	Moderate
13	3.2	Moderate
14	3.1	Moderate
15	3.1	Moderate
16	3.1	Moderate
17	3.0	Moderate
18	3.0	Moderate
19	3.0	Moderate
20	2.9	Moderate
21	2.9	Moderate
22	2.9	Moderate
23	2.8	Moderate
24	2.8	Moderate
25	2.8	Moderate
26	2.7	Moderate
27	2.7	Moderate
28	2.6	Moderate
29	2.6	Moderate
30	2.5	Moderate

Planning a trip in April

Is April a good time to visit Kaikoura?

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

4.5

Sightseeing

5th-best month of the year

0.1

Beach & pool

5th-best month of the year

April is a reasonable time to visit Kaikoura for sightseeing.

What to pack for Kaikoura in April

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

In April, Kaikoura sees daytime highs around 15°C and nights near 11°C. Worth packing: a warm layer and rain gear. About 10 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Kaikoura in April

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

The sea at the nearest coast (about 16 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°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)	16	17	16	14	13	12	11	10	11	12	13	15
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	16	Cool
Feb	17	Cool
Mar	16	Cool
Apr	14	Bracing
May	13	Bracing
Jun	12	Bracing
Jul	11	Bracing
Aug	10	Bracing
Sep	11	Bracing
Oct	12	Bracing
Nov	13	Bracing
Dec	15	Bracing

UV index in Kaikoura in April

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in April peaks around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Kaikoura peaks around January 14 at about 11 (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.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	11	10	6	4	2	1	2	3	4	6	9	11
Level	Extreme	Extreme	High	Moderate	Low	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	Very high	Extreme

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	11	Extreme
Feb	10	Extreme
Mar	6	High
Apr	4	Moderate
May	2	Low
Jun	1	Low
Jul	2	Low
Aug	3	Moderate
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	6	High
Nov	9	Very high
Dec	11	Extreme

Location & terrain

Where is Kaikoura?

Kaikoura sits at 42.4°S, 173.7°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Blenheim, 103 km away.

Topography around Kaikoura

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Kaikoura has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 131 m around an average of 13 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,593 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,828 m.

The land around Kaikoura is covered by water (64%) and grassland (25%) within 3 km, water (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (42%) and water (33%) within 80 km.

3 km

131 m

water 64%

16 km

1,593 m

water 64%

80 km

2,828 m

grassland 42%

treesshrubsgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← March Kaikoura year-round climate May →Best places to visit in April

April weather nearby: Blenheim 103 km · Richmond 127 km · Stoke 128 km · Picton 128 km · Nelson 132 km · Rangiora 133 km · Christchurch 151 km · Karori 153 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 Kaikoura (-42.4167°, 173.6833°, elevation 0 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	16	12
2	16	12
3	16	12
4	16	12
5	16	12
6	15	12
7	15	12
8	15	11
9	15	11
10	15	11
11	15	11
12	15	11
13	15	11
14	15	11
15	15	11
16	15	11
17	15	11
18	15	11
19	15	11
20	15	11
21	15	11
22	14	11
23	14	11
24	14	11
25	14	11
26	14	11
27	14	11
28	14	10
29	14	10
30	14	10

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	55	45
18	55	45
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	32
20	32
21	31
22	31
23	31
24	31
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	84	16
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	87	13
5	89	11
6	90	10
7	92	8
8	93	7
9	94	6
10	95	5
11	96	4
12	96	4
13	97	3
14	97	3
15	97	3
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	55	45
18	55	45
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	32
20	32
21	31
22	31
23	31
24	31
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	84	16
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	87	13
5	89	11
6	90	10
7	92	8
8	93	7
9	94	6
10	95	5
11	96	4
12	96	4
13	97	3
14	97	3
15	97	3
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	54	46
2	53	47
3	53	47
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	52	48
8	52	48
9	53	47
10	53	47
11	53	47
12	53	47
13	54	46
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	55	45
18	55	45
19	55	45
20	55	45
21	55	45
22	55	45
23	55	45
24	54	46
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	53	47
28	53	47
29	53	47
30	53	47

	Rain chance (%)
1	31
2	32
3	32
4	33
5	34
6	35
7	35
8	36
9	36
10	36
11	36
12	36
13	36
14	35
15	35
16	34
17	33
18	33
19	32
20	32
21	31
22	31
23	31
24	31
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	84	16
2	85	15
3	86	14
4	87	13
5	89	11
6	90	10
7	92	8
8	93	7
9	94	6
10	95	5
11	96	4
12	96	4
13	97	3
14	97	3
15	97	3
16	98	2
17	98	2
18	98	2
19	98	2
20	98	2
21	98	2
22	98	2
23	98	2
24	99	1
25	99	1
26	99	1
27	99	1
28	99	1
29	99	1
30	99	1