Wanaka in Summer
In summer (December, January and February), Wanaka sees average daytime highs around 17°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 318 mm of precipitation over about 35 wet days across the season. It is the warmest season of the year and the 2nd-wettest season.
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across summer, and the air most often feels dry.
Summer is Wanaka's best season of the year to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Wanaka's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 17°C
- warmest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 8°C
- Precipitation
- 318 mm
- 35 wet days
- Avg wind
- 7 km/h
- Travel score
- 5.1
- best season of the year
- Months
- Dec · Jan · Feb
Temperature in Wanaka in Summer
Across summer, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 17°C.
A typical summer day in Wanaka reaches about 17°C and drops to 8°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is February, the coolest December.
How summer really feels in Wanaka
Once humidity and wind are folded in, summer brings about 0 days that feel above 32°C and 0 that feel at or below 0°C.
summer sits comfortably in between — no days that feel dangerously hot or drop to a hard freeze once humidity and wind are folded in.
Wanaka 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 | Snow days | Daylight (hours) | Travel score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17° / 9° | 113 | 11.2 | 0.1 | 15 | 5.4 |
| Feb | 18° / 9° | 81 | 9.3 | 0.1 | 13.9 | 5.6 |
| Mar | 15° / 7° | 96 | 10.5 | 0.1 | 12.4 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 12° / 4° | 89 | 10.2 | 0.5 | 10.8 | 3.2 |
| May | 8° / 2° | 104 | 12.7 | 2.2 | 9.4 | 1.4 |
| Jun | 4° / -1° | 85 | 10.6 | 4.3 | 8.7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 3° / -3° | 79 | 9.7 | 5 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 5° / -1° | 78 | 10.6 | 4.6 | 10.1 | 0.2 |
| Sep | 8° / 1° | 110 | 12.8 | 3.9 | 11.7 | 1.3 |
| Oct | 11° / 2° | 118 | 14 | 2.7 | 13.3 | 2.4 |
| Nov | 13° / 5° | 116 | 13.4 | 1.2 | 14.6 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 16° / 7° | 124 | 14.1 | 0.3 | 15.3 | 4.4 |
Cloud cover in Summer
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 17% of the time across summer.
Chance of precipitation in Summer
Wanaka gets around 318 mm of rain and snow over 35 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 7 km/h across summer.
Sunrise & sunset in Summer
Daylight runs from about 15 h 06 min in early December to 13 h 12 min 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 6.3 kWh/m².
Is summer a good time to visit Wanaka?
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 Wanaka for sightseeing.
What to pack for Wanaka in Summer
From summer's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In summer, Wanaka sees daytime highs around 17°C and nights near 8°C. Pack rain gear and sun protection. Worth having: a warm layer. About 35 days see rain.
UV index in Wanaka in Summer
Clear-sky midday UV across summer averages around 10 (very high — sun protection essential). The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.
Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Wanaka peaks around January 15 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 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 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 | 9 | Very high |
| Mar | 6 | High |
| Apr | 3 | Moderate |
| May | 2 | Low |
| Jun | 1 | Low |
| Jul | 2 | Low |
| Aug | 2 | Moderate |
| Sep | 5 | Moderate |
| Oct | 6 | High |
| Nov | 8 | Very high |
| Dec | 10 | Very high |
Where is Wanaka?
Wanaka sits at 44.7°S, 169.2°E, 0 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Queenstown, 53 km away.
Topography around Wanaka
How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Wanaka.
Within 3 km, the terrain around Wanaka has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 258 m around an average of 325 m above sea level; within 16 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,573 m; within 80 km, extreme variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 2,837 m.
The land around Wanaka is covered by grassland (49%) and trees (23%) within 3 km, grassland (64%) within 16 km, and grassland (68%) and trees (20%) 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 Wanaka (-44.7°, 169.15°, 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.