Wellington in Winter
In winter (June, July and August), Wellington sees average daytime highs around 11°C and overnight lows near 9°C, with 264 mm of rain over about 37 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 34% of the time across winter, and the air most often feels dry.
Winter is Wellington's weakest season of the year to visit on our travel score. Wellington has little temperature swing across the year, so its calendar seasons blur — the season framing matters less here than for a place with four distinct seasons. For the whole year in context, see Wellington's year-round climate.
- Avg daytime high
- 11°C
- coldest season of the year
- Avg overnight low
- 9°C
- Rainfall
- 264 mm
- 37 wet days
- Avg wind
- 26 km/h
- Travel score
- 2.8
- weakest season of the year
- Months
- Jun · Jul · Aug
Temperature in Wellington in Winter
Across winter, daytime highs hold fairly steady around 11°C.
A typical winter day in Wellington reaches about 11°C and drops to 9°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is June, the coolest July.
Wellington 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 | 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 Winter
The sky is clear or mostly clear about 34% of the time across winter.
Chance of precipitation in Winter
Wellington gets around 264 mm of rain over 37 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 26 km/h across winter.
Sunrise & sunset in Winter
Daylight runs from about 9 h 18 min in early June to 11 hours 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 2.0 kWh/m².
Is winter a good time to visit Wellington?
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 Wellington.
What to pack for Wellington in Winter
From winter's temperature range, rain chance, sun and wind — what's worth putting in the bag.
In winter, Wellington sees daytime highs around 11°C and nights near 9°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear and a windbreaker. About 37 days see rain.
Sea temperature near Wellington in Winter
The nearest coast averages about 12°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 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 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 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 |
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.
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.