Napier in Summer
In summer (December, January and February), Napier sees average daytime highs around 21°C and overnight lows near 16°C, with 177 mm of rain over about 25 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 21°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels dry.
Summer is Napier's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Napier's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 21°C
- warmest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 16°C
- Rainfall
- 177 mm
- 25 wet days
- Avg wind
- 15 km/h
- Travel score
- 6.7
- best season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Napier in Summer
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 21°C.
A typical summer day in Napier reaches about 21°C and drops to 16°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is January, the coolest December.
Napier weather by month
How the three summer months (December, January and February) compare with the rest of the year — the season's months are highlighted.
| Month | High / Low (°C) | Rainfall (mm) | Wet days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22° / 16° | 63 | 7.7 | 14.5 | 7.0 |
| Feb | 22° / 17° | 56 | 8 | 13.6 | 6.8 |
| Mar | 20° / 15° | 65 | 8.2 | 12.3 | 6.7 |
| Apr | 18° / 13° | 80 | 8.8 | 11 | 6.1 |
| May | 16° / 11° | 65 | 9.1 | 9.9 | 5.2 |
| Jun | 14° / 9° | 79 | 10.1 | 9.3 | 4.1 |
| Jul | 13° / 8° | 92 | 11.1 | 9.5 | 3.5 |
| Aug | 13° / 8° | 71 | 10.6 | 10.4 | 3.8 |
| Sep | 15° / 9° | 62 | 9.4 | 11.7 | 4.6 |
| Oct | 16° / 11° | 63 | 9.3 | 13 | 5.4 |
| Nov | 18° / 13° | 58 | 8.8 | 14.2 | 6.1 |
| Dec | 20° / 15° | 58 | 9.3 | 14.7 | 6.4 |
Cloud cover in Summer
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 35% of the time across summer.
Chance of precipitation in Summer
Napier gets around 177 mm of rain over 25 wet days across summer. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Summer
Most of summer feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Summer
Winds average 15 km/h across summer.
Sunrise & sunset in Summer
Daylight runs from about 14 h 36 min in early December to 13 hours by late February. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Summer
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across summer, about 6.4 kWh/m².
Is summer a good time to visit Napier?
Our two travel scores rate summer for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
summer is a reasonable time to visit Napier for sightseeing.
What to pack for Napier in Summer
From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In summer, Napier sees daytime highs around 21°C and nights near 16°C. Pack sun protection. Worth having: rain gear. About 25 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Napier in Summer
The nearest coast averages about 19°C across summer — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 22 km away) is warmest in February at about 20°C and coldest in August near 13°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) | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 14 | 16 | 17 |
| Comfort | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 19 | Cool |
| Feb | 20 | Cool |
| Mar | 19 | Cool |
| Apr | 18 | Cool |
| May | 16 | Cool |
| Jun | 14 | Bracing |
| Jul | 13 | Bracing |
| Aug | 13 | Bracing |
| Sep | 13 | Bracing |
| Oct | 14 | Bracing |
| Nov | 16 | Cool |
| Dec | 17 | Cool |
UV index in Napier in Summer
Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 11 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Napier peaks around January 13 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 17 at about 2 (low).
The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 9 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 12 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | High | Moderate | Moderate | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | High | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Extreme |
| Feb | 11 | Extreme |
| Mar | 7 | High |
| Apr | 5 | Moderate |
| May | 2 | Moderate |
| Jun | 2 | Low |
| Jul | 2 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 4 | Moderate |
| Oct | 7 | High |
| Nov | 11 | Extreme |
| Dec | 12 | Extreme |
Where is Napier?
Napier sits at 39.5°S, 176.9°E, 6 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Hastings, 17 km away.
Topography around Napier
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Napier.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Napier has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 97 m around an average of 6 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 366 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,719 m.
The land around Napier is covered by water (52%) and artificial surfaces (31%) within 3 km, water (51%) and grassland (30%) within 16 km, and grassland (37%), water (32%) and trees (30%) within 80 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 Napier (-39.4926°, 176.9123°, elevation 6 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.