Timaru in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Timaru sees average daytime highs around 9°C and overnight lows near 4°C, with 158 mm of precipitation over about 25 wet days across the season. It is the coldest season of the year and the driest season of the year.
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Timaru's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Timaru's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 9°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 4°C
- Precipitation
- 158 mm
- 25 wet days
- Avg wind
- 11 km/h
- Travel score
- 2.0
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Timaru in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 9°C.
A typical winter day in Timaru reaches about 9°C and drops to 4°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is August, the coolest July.
How winter really feels in Timaru
Once humidity and wind are folded in, winter brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 14 that feel at or below 0°C.
The story in winter is cold — wind chill drags the overnight "feels like" below the raw low.
Timaru 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 | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18° / 12° | 81 | 12.8 | 0 | 15 | 5.3 |
| Feb | 18° / 13° | 72 | 10.7 | 0 | 13.9 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 17° / 11° | 63 | 10.1 | 0 | 12.4 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 14° / 9° | 64 | 10.5 | 0 | 10.8 | 4.2 |
| May | 12° / 7° | 52 | 8.3 | 0 | 9.4 | 3.3 |
| Jun | 9° / 4° | 51 | 8.6 | 0.6 | 8.7 | 2.0 |
| Jul | 9° / 3° | 54 | 7.7 | 0.3 | 9 | 1.7 |
| Aug | 10° / 4° | 53 | 9.1 | 0.4 | 10.2 | 2.2 |
| Sep | 12° / 6° | 48 | 9 | 0.4 | 11.7 | 3.0 |
| Oct | 13° / 7° | 62 | 11.5 | 0.1 | 13.2 | 3.5 |
| Nov | 15° / 9° | 74 | 12.6 | 0.1 | 14.6 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 16° / 11° | 80 | 13.8 | 0 | 15.3 | 4.6 |
Cloud cover in Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 30% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Timaru gets around 158 mm of rain and snow over 25 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 8 h 54 min in early June to 10 h 54 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 1.8 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Timaru?
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 Timaru.
What to pack for Timaru in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Timaru sees daytime highs around 9°C and nights near 4°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear. About 25 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Timaru in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 10°C across winter — 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 17°C and coldest in August near 9°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 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 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 | 12 | Bracing |
| Jun | 10 | Bracing |
| Jul | 9 | Bracing |
| Aug | 9 | Bracing |
| Sep | 10 | Bracing |
| Oct | 11 | Bracing |
| Nov | 13 | Bracing |
| Dec | 15 | Bracing |
UV index in Timaru in Winter
Clear-sky midday UV across winter averages around 2. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Timaru peaks around January 15 at about 10 (extreme) — 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 8 months of the year.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UV index (midday) | 11 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| Level | Extreme | Very high | High | Moderate | Low | Low | Low | Moderate | Moderate | High | Very high | Very high |
| UV index (midday) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 11 | Extreme |
| Feb | 10 | Very high |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 2 | Low |
| Jun | 1 | Low |
| Jul | 1 | Low |
| Aug | 2 | Moderate |
| Sep | 3 | Moderate |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 8 | Very high |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Air quality in Timaru in Winter
Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where winter falls, not just the annual average.
Air quality in Timaru is worst in September — around 23 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 3.2× the cleanest month (June, 7 µg/m³).
Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Timaru's WHO annual average of 15 µg/m³.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 18 | 21 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 23 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| Level | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
| PM2.5 (µg/m³) | Level | |
|---|---|---|
| Jan | 18 | Moderate |
| Feb | 21 | Moderate |
| Mar | 21 | Moderate |
| Apr | 11 | Good |
| May | 8 | Good |
| Jun | 7 | Good |
| Jul | 8 | Good |
| Aug | 12 | Good |
| Sep | 23 | Moderate |
| Oct | 16 | Moderate |
| Nov | 17 | Moderate |
| Dec | 18 | Moderate |
Where is Timaru?
Timaru sits at 44.4°S, 171.3°E, 14 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Ashburton, 67 km away.
Topography around Timaru
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Timaru.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Timaru has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 57 m around an average of 11 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 383 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,287 m.
The land around Timaru is covered by water (44%) and artificial surfaces (26%) within 3 km, water (47%) and grassland (28%) within 16 km, and grassland (54%) and water (28%) 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 Timaru (-44.3967°, 171.2536°, elevation 14 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.