Christchurch in Spring

In spring (March, April and May), Christchurch sees average daytime highs around 12°C and overnight lows near 8°C, with 174 mm of precipitation over about 31 wet days across the season. It is the 3rd-warmest season and the driest season of the year.

Over the season highs climb from about 8°C in early March to 15°C by late May. The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across spring, and the air most often feels dry.

Spring is Christchurch's 3rd-best season to visit on our travel score. For the whole year in context, see Christchurch's year-round climate.

Avg daytime high: 12°C; 3rd-warmest season
Avg overnight low: 8°C
Precipitation: 174 mm; 31 wet days
Avg wind: 19 km/h
Travel score: 2.9; 3rd-best season
Months: Mar · Apr · May

← Winter Christchurch year-round climate Summer →

Spring Summer Fall Winter

Temperature in Christchurch in Spring

Average highAverage lowShaded bands: 10–90% of days

Over the season highs climb from about 8°C in early March to 15°C by late May.

A typical spring day in Christchurch reaches about 12°C and drops to 8°C overnight. The warmest of the three months is May, the coolest March.

Christchurch weather by month

How the three spring months (March, April and May) 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	8° / 5°	93	14.6	0.3	8.2	1.3
Feb	8° / 5°	67	11.2	0.5	9.7	1.2
Mar	9° / 6°	59	11.3	0.3	11.5	1.9
Apr	11° / 7°	60	10.6	0.1	13.5	2.8
May	14° / 10°	55	9.5	0	15.2	4.1
Jun	17° / 13°	58	9.6	0	16.2	5.3
Jul	19° / 15°	58	9.8	0	15.8	6.1
Aug	19° / 15°	74	10.5	0	14.3	6.0
Sep	17° / 14°	70	10.7	0	12.4	5.5
Oct	15° / 11°	110	13.6	0	10.4	3.9
Nov	11° / 8°	113	14.7	0	8.7	2.5
Dec	9° / 6°	101	13.2	0.2	7.8	1.7

Cloud cover in Spring

ClearMostly clearPartly cloudyMostly cloudyOvercast

The sky is clear or mostly clear about 22% of the time across spring.

Chance of precipitation in Spring

Any precipitationSnow

Christchurch gets around 174 mm of rain and snow over 31 wet days across spring. The line is the day-by-day chance of measurable precipitation.

Humidity in Spring

DryComfortableHumidMuggyOppressiveMiserable

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

Wind in Spring

Winds average 19 km/h across spring.

Sunrise & sunset in Spring

DaylightNight

Daylight runs from about 10 h 36 min in early March to 15 h 54 min by late May. The lit band spans sunrise to sunset each day.

Solar energy in Spring

Daily solar energy (kWh/m²)

Average shortwave solar energy reaching the ground each day across spring, about 4.1 kWh/m².

Planning a trip in spring

Is spring a good time to visit Christchurch?

Our two travel scores rate spring for general sightseeing and for beach or pool weather — 0 (poor) to 10 (ideal), averaged across the three months.

2.9

Sightseeing

3rd-best month of the year

0.0

Beach & pool

3rd-best month of the year

spring is a weaker month for outdoor sightseeing in Christchurch.

What to pack for Christchurch in Spring

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

In spring, Christchurch sees daytime highs around 12°C and nights near 8°C. Pack a warm layer. Worth having: rain gear, sun protection and a windbreaker. About 31 days see rain.

a warm layerrain gearsun protectiona windbreaker

Sea temperature near Christchurch in Spring

The nearest coast averages about 10°C across spring — the other half of the beach question. The full-year curve and swim-comfort zones are below.

The sea at the nearest coast (about 14 km away) is warmest in August at about 18°C and coldest in March near 8°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)	9	8	8	9	11	14	16	18	17	16	13	11
Comfort	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Bracing	Cool	Cool	Cool	Cool	Bracing	Bracing

	Sea temperature (°C)	Comfort
Jan	9	Bracing
Feb	8	Bracing
Mar	8	Bracing
Apr	9	Bracing
May	11	Bracing
Jun	14	Bracing
Jul	16	Cool
Aug	18	Cool
Sep	17	Cool
Oct	16	Cool
Nov	13	Bracing
Dec	11	Bracing

UV index in Christchurch in Spring

LowModerateHighVery highExtreme

Clear-sky midday UV across spring averages around 4 — enough to warrant sun protection. The full-year curve, shaded by WHO exposure level, is below.

Under clear skies, the midday UV index in Christchurch peaks around August 12 at about 6 (high) — sunscreen and a hat are worth it in the middle of the day. It bottoms out near January 1 at about 1 (low).

The index reaches 3 or more — the level where the WHO recommends sun protection — in 6 months of the year.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
UV index (midday)	1	1	3	4	6	6	6	6	4	2	1	1
Level	Low	Low	Moderate	Moderate	High	High	High	High	Moderate	Moderate	Low	Low

	UV index (midday)	Level
Jan	1	Low
Feb	1	Low
Mar	3	Moderate
Apr	4	Moderate
May	6	High
Jun	6	High
Jul	6	High
Aug	6	High
Sep	4	Moderate
Oct	2	Moderate
Nov	1	Low
Dec	1	Low

Air quality in Christchurch in Spring

GoodModeratePoorUnhealthyVery unhealthy

Average fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) through the year — so you can see where spring falls, not just the annual average.

Air quality in Christchurch is worst in April — around 17 µg/m³ PM2.5 (moderate), about 1.7× the cleanest month (November, 10 µg/m³).

Seasonal pattern from CAMS reanalysis, scaled to Christchurch's WHO annual average of 12.8 µg/m³.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
PM2.5 (µg/m³)	13	13	17	17	15	13	11	12	12	11	10	11
Level	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Moderate	Good	Moderate	Good	Good	Good	Good

	PM2.5 (µg/m³)	Level
Jan	13	Moderate
Feb	13	Moderate
Mar	17	Moderate
Apr	17	Moderate
May	15	Moderate
Jun	13	Moderate
Jul	11	Good
Aug	12	Moderate
Sep	12	Good
Oct	11	Good
Nov	10	Good
Dec	11	Good

Location & terrain

Where is Christchurch?

Christchurch sits at 50.7°N, 1.8°W, 4 m above sea level, in United Kingdom. The nearest listed city is Bournemouth, 7.0 km away.

Topography around Christchurch

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

Within 3 km, the terrain around Christchurch has only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 65 m around an average of 8 m above sea level; within 16 km, only modest variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 119 m; within 80 km, significant variations in elevation — a maximum elevation change of 302 m.

The land around Christchurch is covered by artificial surfaces (30%), trees (23%) and grassland (21%) within 3 km, water (43%), trees (23%) and grassland (21%) within 16 km, and water (37%) and grassland (28%) within 80 km.

3 km

65 m

artificial surfaces 30%

16 km

119 m

water 43%

80 km

302 m

water 37%

treesgrasslandcroplandartificial surfacesbare terrainwaterwetland

← Winter Christchurch year-round climate Summer →

Spring weather nearby: Bournemouth 7.0 km · New Milton 8.0 km · Ferndown 12 km · Poole 15 km · Wimborne Minster 15 km · Totton 29 km · Hythe 30 km · Southampton 32 km

United Kingdom travel facts

Travel advisory: Level 2; Exercise Increased Caution
Power plugs: Type D / G / M; 230 V · 50 Hz
Prices: ≈ 89% of US; price level, 2025
GDP per capita: $57,602; 2025
Happiness: 6.7 / 10; World Happiness, 2025
Safe drinking water: 100%; of population, 2024
Homicide rate: 1.1; per 100k, 2021
Road deaths: 3.2; 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 Christchurch (50.7358°, -1.7813°, elevation 4 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.