Wellington weather in October

In October, Wellington sees average daytime highs of 13°C and overnight lows near 11°C, with 83 mm of rain across 11.3 wet days and about 13.1 hours of daylight. It is the 8th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month of the year here.

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 13°C through the month. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 37% of the time in October, and the air most often feels dry.

Daylight stretches from about 12 h 24 min at the start of October to 13 h 48 min by month's end. Set against the rest of the year, October is Wellington's 8th-clearest and 1st-windiest month. For the whole year in context, see Wellington's year-round climate.

Daytime high: 13°; 8th warmest
Overnight low: 11°; 5th coldest
Rainfall: 83 mm; 11.3 wet days
Daylight: 13 h 06 min; 6:32 AM – 7:40 PM
Cloud cover: 55%; 8th clearest
Wind: 28 km/h; 1st windiest
Solar energy: 5.31 kWh/m²
Travel score: 3.6; out of 10

Wellington is capital city of New Zealand; urban area of the cities of Wellington, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, and Porirua.

Air quality: Excellent; PM10 12.9 µg/m³ · 2012
Density: 860/km²; people per km²
Founded: 1839

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

← September Wellington year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

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

Temperature in October

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Day-to-day highs hold fairly steady near 13°C through the month.

A typical October day in Wellington reaches about 13°C in the afternoon and slips back to 11°C overnight — a 3°C spread between the day's warmth and the night's chill. On most days the high lands between 11°C and 15°C. Set against its neighbours, October runs about 1°C warmer than September and about 1°C cooler than November.

	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)	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	13	14	14	14	14
Avg low (°C)	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	10	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11	11

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

Wellington weather by month

How October compares with the rest of the year at a glance. October is the 8th-warmest and 3rd-wettest month here — the current month is highlighted below.

Month	High / Low (°C)	Rainfall (mm)	Wet days	Daylight (hours)	Travel score
Jan	17° / 15°	55	7.5	14.6	5.9
Feb	18° / 15°	56	6.1	13.7	6.4
Mar	17° / 14°	59	7.4	12.3	5.8
Apr	15° / 13°	73	9	10.9	4.8
May	14° / 12°	76	10.2	9.7	4.0
Jun	12° / 10°	95	12.1	9.1	3.1
Jul	11° / 9°	87	12.1	9.3	2.7
Aug	11° / 9°	82	12.6	10.3	2.7
Sep	12° / 10°	74	10.8	11.7	3.2
Oct	13° / 11°	83	11.3	13.1	3.6
Nov	14° / 12°	69	9.1	14.3	4.3
Dec	16° / 14°	65	9.6	14.9	5.0

Cloud cover in October

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

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

Beyond those clear spells, partly cloudy skies cover about 17% of October, with mostly cloudy or overcast conditions the remaining 46%. Skies tend to open up as the month goes on.

	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 (%)	51	51	50	50	50	50	50	50	51	51	51	52	52	54	55	55	56	56	57	57	58	58	58	58	57	57	57	57	56	56	56
Cloudier (%)	49	49	50	50	50	50	50	50	49	49	49	48	48	46	45	45	44	44	43	43	42	42	42	42	43	43	43	43	44	44	44

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	51	49
10	51	49
11	51	49
12	52	48
13	52	48
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	57	43
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	57	43
28	57	43
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

Chance of precipitation in October

Any precipitation

Wellington gets around 83 mm of rain over 11.3 wet days in October. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Day to day, the chance of measurable rain averages around 37% and peaks near 41% on the wettest days. The odds ease toward the end of the month.

	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 (%)	37	38	38	39	39	40	40	40	41	41	40	40	40	40	39	39	38	37	36	35	35	34	33	33	32	32	32	32	32	32	32

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	38
3	38
4	39
5	39
6	40
7	40
8	40
9	41
10	41
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	39
16	39
17	38
18	37
19	36
20	35
21	35
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	32

Humidity in October

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

By dew point, October lands in the dry band about 99% 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	99	99	99	99	98	98	97	97	97	96	95	95	94
Comfortable (%)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	2	2	3	3	3	4	5	5	6

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	95	5
30	95	5
31	94	6

Wind in October

Winds average 28 km/h in October, the windiest month of the year.

Across October, daily wind ranges from about 28 km/h on the calmest days to 29 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)	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28
Feels	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	windy	windy	windy	windy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy	breezy

	Wind speed (km/h)	Feels
1	29	breezy
2	29	breezy
3	29	breezy
4	29	breezy
5	29	breezy
6	29	breezy
7	29	breezy
8	29	breezy
9	29	windy
10	29	windy
11	29	windy
12	29	windy
13	29	breezy
14	29	breezy
15	29	breezy
16	29	breezy
17	29	breezy
18	29	breezy
19	28	breezy
20	28	breezy
21	28	breezy
22	28	breezy
23	28	breezy
24	28	breezy
25	28	breezy
26	28	breezy
27	28	breezy
28	28	breezy
29	28	breezy
30	28	breezy
31	28	breezy

Sunrise & sunset in October

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 12 h 24 min at the start of October to 13 h 48 min by month's end. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Days grow by about 84 minutes over October. Sunrise moves from 6:57 AM to 6:11 AM, and sunset from 7:23 PM to 7:58 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)	12.4	12.5	12.5	12.6	12.6	12.7	12.7	12.8	12.8	12.9	12.9	12.9	13.0	13.0	13.1	13.1	13.2	13.2	13.3	13.3	13.3	13.4	13.4	13.5	13.5	13.6	13.6	13.6	13.7	13.7	13.8
Sunrise (AM)	6:57	6:55	6:53	6:52	6:50	6:48	6:47	6:45	6:43	6:42	6:40	6:38	6:37	6:35	6:34	6:32	6:31	6:29	6:28	6:26	6:25	6:23	6:22	6:20	6:19	6:18	6:16	6:15	6:14	6:13	6:11
Sunset (PM)	7:23	7:24	7:25	7:26	7:27	7:28	7:30	7:31	7:32	7:33	7:34	7:35	7:36	7:37	7:39	7:40	7:41	7:42	7:43	7:44	7:46	7:47	7:48	7:49	7:50	7:52	7:53	7:54	7:55	7:56	7:58

	Daylight (h)	Sunrise (AM)	Sunset (PM)
1	12.4	6:57	7:23
2	12.5	6:55	7:24
3	12.5	6:53	7:25
4	12.6	6:52	7:26
5	12.6	6:50	7:27
6	12.7	6:48	7:28
7	12.7	6:47	7:30
8	12.8	6:45	7:31
9	12.8	6:43	7:32
10	12.9	6:42	7:33
11	12.9	6:40	7:34
12	12.9	6:38	7:35
13	13.0	6:37	7:36
14	13.0	6:35	7:37
15	13.1	6:34	7:39
16	13.1	6:32	7:40
17	13.2	6:31	7:41
18	13.2	6:29	7:42
19	13.3	6:28	7:43
20	13.3	6:26	7:44
21	13.3	6:25	7:46
22	13.4	6:23	7:47
23	13.4	6:22	7:48
24	13.5	6:20	7:49
25	13.5	6:19	7:50
26	13.6	6:18	7:52
27	13.6	6:16	7:53
28	13.6	6:15	7:54
29	13.7	6:14	7:55
30	13.7	6:13	7:56
31	13.8	6:11	7:58

Solar energy in October

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day in October, about 5.31 kWh/m².

For context, solar energy here swings from a low near 1.6 kWh/m² to a high of 7.3 kWh/m² in January across the year — October's 5.31 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)	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.7	4.8	4.8	4.9	4.9	5.0	5.0	5.1	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.3	5.4	5.4	5.5	5.6	5.6	5.7	5.7	5.8	5.8	5.8	5.9	5.9	5.9	6.0	6.0
Level	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Bright	Intense

	Solar energy (kWh/m²)	Level
1	4.6	Bright
2	4.6	Bright
3	4.6	Bright
4	4.7	Bright
5	4.7	Bright
6	4.8	Bright
7	4.8	Bright
8	4.9	Bright
9	4.9	Bright
10	5.0	Bright
11	5.0	Bright
12	5.1	Bright
13	5.1	Bright
14	5.2	Bright
15	5.3	Bright
16	5.3	Bright
17	5.4	Bright
18	5.4	Bright
19	5.5	Bright
20	5.6	Bright
21	5.6	Bright
22	5.7	Bright
23	5.7	Bright
24	5.8	Bright
25	5.8	Bright
26	5.8	Bright
27	5.9	Bright
28	5.9	Bright
29	5.9	Bright
30	6.0	Bright
31	6.0	Intense

Planning a trip in October

Is October a good time to visit Wellington?

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

3.6

Sightseeing

8th-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

7th-best month of the year

October is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Wellington.

What to pack for Wellington in October

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

In October, Wellington sees daytime highs around 13°C and nights near 11°C. Pack a windbreaker. Worth having: a warm layer, rain gear and sun protection. About 11 days see rain.

a windbreakera warm layerrain gearsun protection

Sea temperature near Wellington in October

The nearest coast averages about 13°C in October — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 13 km away) is warmest in February at about 17°C and coldest in August near 12°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	15	14	13	12	12	12	13	14	15
Comfort	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	16	Cool
Feb	17	Cool
Mar	16	Cool
Apr	15	Cool
May	14	Bracing
Jun	13	Bracing
Jul	12	Bracing
Aug	12	Bracing
Sep	12	Bracing
Oct	13	Bracing
Nov	14	Bracing
Dec	15	Bracing

UV index in Wellington in October

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV in October peaks around 6 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Wellington peaks around January 1 at about 11 (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	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 Wellington?

Wellington sits at 41.3°S, 174.8°E, 31 m above sea level, in New Zealand. The nearest listed city is Karori, 3.0 km away.

Topography around Wellington

How much the land rises and falls, and what covers it, within 3, 16 and 80 km of Wellington.

Within 3 km, the terrain around Wellington has significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 349 m around an average of 85 m above sea level; within 16 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 528 m; within 80 km, very significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 1,512 m.

The land around Wellington is covered by trees (45%), artificial surfaces (29%) and water (22%) within 3 km, water (46%) and trees (31%) within 16 km, and water (60%) and trees (23%) within 80 km.

3 km

349 m

trees 45%

16 km

528 m

water 46%

80 km

1,512 m

water 60%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwater

← September Wellington year-round climate November →Best places to visit in October

October weather nearby: Karori 3.0 km · Lower Hutt 14 km · Wainuiomata 15 km · Porirua 18 km · Upper Hutt 28 km · Paraparaumu 46 km · Picton 64 km · Blenheim 73 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 Wellington (-41.2866°, 174.7756°, elevation 31 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	13	10
2	13	10
3	13	10
4	13	10
5	13	10
6	13	10
7	13	10
8	13	10
9	13	10
10	13	10
11	13	11
12	13	11
13	13	11
14	13	11
15	13	11
16	13	11
17	13	11
18	13	11
19	13	11
20	13	11
21	13	11
22	13	11
23	13	11
24	13	11
25	13	11
26	13	11
27	13	11
28	14	11
29	14	11
30	14	11
31	14	11

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	51	49
10	51	49
11	51	49
12	52	48
13	52	48
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	57	43
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	57	43
28	57	43
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	38
3	38
4	39
5	39
6	40
7	40
8	40
9	41
10	41
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	39
16	39
17	38
18	37
19	36
20	35
21	35
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	95	5
30	95	5
31	94	6

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	51	49
10	51	49
11	51	49
12	52	48
13	52	48
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	57	43
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	57	43
28	57	43
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	38
3	38
4	39
5	39
6	40
7	40
8	40
9	41
10	41
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	39
16	39
17	38
18	37
19	36
20	35
21	35
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	95	5
30	95	5
31	94	6

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

	Clearer (%)	Cloudier (%)
1	51	49
2	51	49
3	50	50
4	50	50
5	50	50
6	50	50
7	50	50
8	50	50
9	51	49
10	51	49
11	51	49
12	52	48
13	52	48
14	54	46
15	55	45
16	55	45
17	56	44
18	56	44
19	57	43
20	57	43
21	58	42
22	58	42
23	58	42
24	58	42
25	57	43
26	57	43
27	57	43
28	57	43
29	56	44
30	56	44
31	56	44

	Rain chance (%)
1	37
2	38
3	38
4	39
5	39
6	40
7	40
8	40
9	41
10	41
11	40
12	40
13	40
14	40
15	39
16	39
17	38
18	37
19	36
20	35
21	35
22	34
23	33
24	33
25	32
26	32
27	32
28	32
29	32
30	32
31	32

	Dry (%)	Comfortable (%)
1	100	0
2	100	0
3	100	0
4	100	0
5	100	0
6	100	0
7	100	0
8	100	0
9	100	0
10	100	0
11	100	0
12	100	0
13	100	0
14	100	0
15	100	0
16	100	0
17	100	0
18	100	0
19	99	1
20	99	1
21	99	1
22	99	1
23	98	2
24	98	2
25	97	3
26	97	3
27	97	3
28	96	4
29	95	5
30	95	5
31	94	6