Rotorua in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Rotorua sees average daytime highs around 11°C and overnight lows near 5°C, with 339 mm of rain over about 36 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the wettest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 11°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Rotorua's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Rotorua's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 11°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 5°C
- Rainfall
- 339 mm
- 36 wet days
- Avg wind
- 11 km/h
- Travel score
- 2.7
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Rotorua in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 11°C.
A typical winter day in Rotorua reaches about 11°C and drops to 5°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest July.
Rotorua weather by month
How the three winter months (June, July and August) 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° / 13° | 84 | 10.2 | 14.3 | 6.5 |
| Feb | 22° / 13° | 81 | 8.9 | 13.5 | 6.6 |
| Mar | 20° / 11° | 85 | 9.6 | 12.3 | 6.3 |
| Apr | 17° / 9° | 100 | 9.5 | 11 | 5.5 |
| May | 14° / 7° | 101 | 10.3 | 10 | 4.1 |
| Jun | 12° / 5° | 109 | 10.9 | 9.4 | 2.9 |
| Jul | 11° / 4° | 118 | 12.3 | 9.6 | 2.5 |
| Aug | 12° / 5° | 113 | 13.2 | 10.5 | 2.8 |
| Sep | 14° / 6° | 114 | 13 | 11.7 | 3.5 |
| Oct | 15° / 7° | 103 | 12.7 | 13 | 4.4 |
| Nov | 18° / 9° | 93 | 11.4 | 14.1 | 5.4 |
| Dec | 20° / 11° | 113 | 13 | 14.6 | 5.7 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 24% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Rotorua gets around 339 mm of rain over 36 wet days across winter. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.
Humidity in Winter
Most of winter feels dry — the stacked bands show each day's mix of comfort levels, read off the dew point.
Wind in Winter
Winds average 11 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 36 min in early June to 11 h 06 min by late August. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.
Solar energy in Winter
Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across winter, about 2.1 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Rotorua?
Our two travel scores rate winter for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.
winter is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Rotorua.
What to pack for Rotorua in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Rotorua sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 5°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 36 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Rotorua in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 15°C across winter — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.
The sea at the nearest coast (about 44 km away) is warmest in February at about 21°C and coldest in August near 14°C.
It's comfortable for a long swim from Jan 22 to Mar 25 — about 2.1 months when the water holds above 20°C.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sea temperature (°C) | 20 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 |
| Comfort | Cool | Refreshing | Refreshing | Cool | Cool | Cool | Bracing | Bracing | Bracing | Cool | Cool | Cool |
| Sea temperature (°C) | Comfort | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20 | Cool |
| Feb | 21 | Refreshing |
| Mar | 20 | Refreshing |
| Apr | 19 | Cool |
| May | 18 | Cool |
| Jun | 16 | Cool |
| Jul | 15 | Bracing |
| Aug | 14 | Bracing |
| Sep | 14 | Bracing |
| Oct | 15 | Cool |
| Nov | 16 | Cool |
| Dec | 18 | Cool |
UV index in Rotorua in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 3. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Rotorua peaks around December 22 at about 12 (extreme) — sunscreen, a hat and midday shade are essential. It bottoms out near June 18 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 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| Level | Extreme | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Very high | Extreme | Extreme |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 12 | Extreme |
| Feb | 11 | Extreme |
| Mar | 8 | Very high |
| Apr | 5 | High |
| May | 3 | Moderate |
| Jun | 2 | Low |
| Jul | 2 | Moderate |
| Aug | 3 | Moderate |
| Sep | 5 | Moderate |
| Oct | 7 | Very high |
| Nov | 11 | Extreme |
| Dec | 12 | Extreme |
Where is Rotorua?
Rotorua sits at 38.1°S, 176.2°E, 287 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Tauranga, 51 km away.
Topography around Rotorua
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Rotorua.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Rotorua has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 84 m around an average of 292 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 572 m; within 80 km, large variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,180 m.
The land around Rotorua is covered by artificial surfaces (36%), trees (22%) and water (22%) within 3 km, trees (46%) and grassland (37%) within 16 km, and trees (44%) and grassland (36%) 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 Rotorua (-38.1387°, 176.2452°, elevation 287 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.