Kaikoura weather in August

In August, Kaikoura sees average daytime highs of 10°C and overnight lows near 7°C, with 79 mm of precipitation across 11.3 wet days and about 10.3 hours of daylight. It is the 11th-warmest and 5th-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 10°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in August, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 9 h 42 min at the start of August to 10 h 54 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, August is Kaikoura's 7th-clearest and 4th-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Kaikoura's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 10°; 11th warmest
Overnight low: 7°; 2nd coldest
Precipitation: 79 mm; 11.3 wet days
Daylight: 10 h 18 min; 8:21 AM – 6:37 PM
Cloud cover: 54%; 7th clearest
Wind: 14 km/h; 4th windiest
Solar energy: 2.67 kWh/m²
Travel score: 2.4; out of 10

Kaikoura is town in New Zealand.

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

← July Kaikoura year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

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

Temperature in August

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 10°C through the month.

A typical August day in Kaikoura reaches about 10°C in the afternoon and slips back to 7°C overnight — a 4°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 8°C and 13°C. Set against its neighbours, August runs on par with July and about 2°C cooler than September.

	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)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11
Avg low (°C)	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7

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

Kaikoura weather by month

How August compares with the rest of the year at a glance. August is the 11th-warmest and 5th-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 August

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in August.

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 15% of August, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 48%.

	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 (%)	55	55	54	53	52	52	51	51	50	50	50	50	49	49	50	50	51	51	52	52	53	53	53	53	54	54	54	54	54	52	52
Cloudier (%)	45	45	46	47	48	48	49	49	50	50	50	50	51	51	50	50	49	49	48	48	47	47	47	47	46	46	46	46	46	48	48

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	55	45
2	55	45
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	51	49
8	51	49
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	50	50
13	49	51
14	49	51
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	52	48
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	52	48
31	52	48

Chance of precipitation in August

Any precipitationSnow

Kaikoura gets around 79 mm of rain and snow over 11.3 wet days in August. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable precipitation averages around 36% and peaks near 39% on the wettest days, and about 1 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 (%)	34	34	34	35	35	36	36	37	37	38	38	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	39	38	38	37	37	36	35	35	34	34	33	33	33
Snow chance (%)	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	34	3
2	34	3
3	34	3
4	35	3
5	35	3
6	36	3
7	36	3
8	37	3
9	37	3
10	38	3
11	38	3
12	39	4
13	39	3
14	39	3
15	39	3
16	39	3
17	39	3
18	39	3
19	39	3
20	38	3
21	38	3
22	37	3
23	37	3
24	36	3
25	35	2
26	35	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	33	2
30	33	2
31	33	2

Humidity in August

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, August 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 August

Winds average 14 km/h in August.

Across August, 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	14	14	14	14	14	14	14	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	15	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	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	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	15	light breeze
20	15	light breeze
21	15	light breeze
22	15	light breeze
23	15	light breeze
24	15	light breeze
25	15	light breeze
26	15	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 August

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 9 h 42 min at the start of August to 10 h 54 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 72 minutes over August. Sunrise moves from 8:41 AM to 7:57 AM, and sunset from 6:21 PM to 6:54 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)	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.8	9.8	9.9	9.9	9.9	10.0	10.0	10.1	10.1	10.1	10.2	10.2	10.3	10.3	10.4	10.4	10.4	10.5	10.5	10.6	10.6	10.7	10.7	10.8	10.8	10.9	10.9	10.9
Sunrise (AM)	8:41	8:40	8:39	8:38	8:37	8:35	8:34	8:33	8:31	8:30	8:29	8:27	8:26	8:24	8:23	8:21	8:20	8:18	8:17	8:15	8:14	8:12	8:10	8:09	8:07	8:06	8:04	8:02	8:00	7:59	7:57
Sunset (PM)	6:21	6:22	6:23	6:24	6:25	6:26	6:28	6:29	6:30	6:31	6:32	6:33	6:34	6:35	6:36	6:37	6:38	6:39	6:41	6:42	6:43	6:44	6:45	6:46	6:47	6:48	6:49	6:50	6:51	6:53	6:54

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	9.7	8:41	6:21
2	9.7	8:40	6:22
3	9.7	8:39	6:23
4	9.8	8:38	6:24
5	9.8	8:37	6:25
6	9.9	8:35	6:26
7	9.9	8:34	6:28
8	9.9	8:33	6:29
9	10.0	8:31	6:30
10	10.0	8:30	6:31
11	10.1	8:29	6:32
12	10.1	8:27	6:33
13	10.1	8:26	6:34
14	10.2	8:24	6:35
15	10.2	8:23	6:36
16	10.3	8:21	6:37
17	10.3	8:20	6:38
18	10.4	8:18	6:39
19	10.4	8:17	6:41
20	10.4	8:15	6:42
21	10.5	8:14	6:43
22	10.5	8:12	6:44
23	10.6	8:10	6:45
24	10.6	8:09	6:46
25	10.7	8:07	6:47
26	10.7	8:06	6:48
27	10.8	8:04	6:49
28	10.8	8:02	6:50
29	10.9	8:00	6:51
30	10.9	7:59	6:53
31	10.9	7:57	6:54

Solar energy in August

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in August, about 2.67 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 — August's 2.67 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)	2.1	2.2	2.2	2.2	2.3	2.3	2.3	2.4	2.4	2.4	2.5	2.5	2.5	2.6	2.6	2.6	2.7	2.7	2.8	2.8	2.9	2.9	3.0	3.0	3.0	3.1	3.1	3.2	3.2	3.2	3.3
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	Moderate

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	2.1	Moderate
2	2.2	Moderate
3	2.2	Moderate
4	2.2	Moderate
5	2.3	Moderate
6	2.3	Moderate
7	2.3	Moderate
8	2.4	Moderate
9	2.4	Moderate
10	2.4	Moderate
11	2.5	Moderate
12	2.5	Moderate
13	2.5	Moderate
14	2.6	Moderate
15	2.6	Moderate
16	2.6	Moderate
17	2.7	Moderate
18	2.7	Moderate
19	2.8	Moderate
20	2.8	Moderate
21	2.9	Moderate
22	2.9	Moderate
23	3.0	Moderate
24	3.0	Moderate
25	3.0	Moderate
26	3.1	Moderate
27	3.1	Moderate
28	3.2	Moderate
29	3.2	Moderate
30	3.2	Moderate
31	3.3	Moderate

Planning a trip in August

Is August a good time to visit Kaikoura?

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

2.4

Sightseeing

11th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

August is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Kaikoura.

What to pack for Kaikoura in August

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

In August, Kaikoura sees daytime highs around 10°C and nights near 7°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 11 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gear

Sea temperature near Kaikoura in August

The nearest coast averages about 10°C in August — 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 August

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in August peaks around 3. 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

← July Kaikoura year-round climate September →Best places to visit in August

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	55	45
2	55	45
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	51	49
8	51	49
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	50	50
13	49	51
14	49	51
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	52	48
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	52	48
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	34	3
2	34	3
3	34	3
4	35	3
5	35	3
6	36	3
7	36	3
8	37	3
9	37	3
10	38	3
11	38	3
12	39	4
13	39	3
14	39	3
15	39	3
16	39	3
17	39	3
18	39	3
19	39	3
20	38	3
21	38	3
22	37	3
23	37	3
24	36	3
25	35	2
26	35	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	33	2
30	33	2
31	33	2

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	55	45
2	55	45
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	51	49
8	51	49
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	50	50
13	49	51
14	49	51
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	52	48
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	52	48
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	34	3
2	34	3
3	34	3
4	35	3
5	35	3
6	36	3
7	36	3
8	37	3
9	37	3
10	38	3
11	38	3
12	39	4
13	39	3
14	39	3
15	39	3
16	39	3
17	39	3
18	39	3
19	39	3
20	38	3
21	38	3
22	37	3
23	37	3
24	36	3
25	35	2
26	35	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	33	2
30	33	2
31	33	2

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	55	45
2	55	45
3	54	46
4	53	47
5	52	48
6	52	48
7	51	49
8	51	49
9	50	50
10	50	50
11	50	50
12	50	50
13	49	51
14	49	51
15	50	50
16	50	50
17	51	49
18	51	49
19	52	48
20	52	48
21	53	47
22	53	47
23	53	47
24	53	47
25	54	46
26	54	46
27	54	46
28	54	46
29	54	46
30	52	48
31	52	48

	Rain chance (%)	Snow chance (%)
1	34	3
2	34	3
3	34	3
4	35	3
5	35	3
6	36	3
7	36	3
8	37	3
9	37	3
10	38	3
11	38	3
12	39	4
13	39	3
14	39	3
15	39	3
16	39	3
17	39	3
18	39	3
19	39	3
20	38	3
21	38	3
22	37	3
23	37	3
24	36	3
25	35	2
26	35	2
27	34	2
28	34	2
29	33	2
30	33	2
31	33	2

	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