28C high at 5pm for Wellington’s sweatiest day of summer
Wednesday, 10 January 2024
Wainuiomata wore the sweaty crown on Wellington’s hottest day this summer, with 28.4C recorded as late as 5pm, according to the MetService.
The sweltering day came with an official heat alert for Wellington and the Hutt Valley, meaning the mercury was expected to get unusually high.
Miramar hotspots Worser bay and Scorching Bay were packed, and beachgoers were thrilled with the hot weather.
Local mum Bridgette Hellberg went to Worser Bay with friends and said this “is what summer’s all about”.
“Oh my god, I love it. I love Wellington when there’s no wind and there’s sunshine, we just need it.
“It’s beautiful, the water’s clear, everyone’s happy, it’s so fun.”
Forecaster Gerard Bellam said every area of the capital registered their hottest times in the mid-late afternoon.
The capital recorded a temperature of 24.9C at Wellington Airport at 2pm, though Kelburn was even warmer with 25.4C at 5pm. Lower Hutt hit its high of 27C at 3pm, and Porirua peaked at 5pm with 26.1C.
MetService does not have an Upper Hutt station, though temperatures were expected to reach 28C on Wednesday, and Bellam said it was certainly a day “when people would head to the river”.
He said water temperatures were about 18C in Wellington Harbour at the moment, making it “ideal” swimming conditions.
Thursday will still be warm with temperatures in the early-mid 20s, but some northerly breezes will blow through, Bellam said.
The warm weather would last into the weekend, with some relief expected from Sunday, Bellam said, when some rain is on the radar.
It will round out a balmy week: Wellington Airport recorded a temperature of 25.2C on Monday and 24C on Tuesday.
Wellington city was having a warmer summer on average than last year, Law said. Last year the capital’s hottest day was January 30 when the mercury reached 26C.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) reported 2023 was the country’s second warmest year on record, with the national average temperature being 13.61C.
Wellington had 2038 sunshine hours in 2023, the lowest of six main centres. The highest amount of annual sunshine was in Lake Tekapo/Takapō, with the area getting 2658 hours of sun.
Wellington’s hottest day of the summer so far coincides with the capital’s residents getting prepared for possible water shortages.
The Post reported 100 people queuing for up to four hours to get a 200-litre water tank from Wellington’s tip shop on Tuesday. The council took delivery of 70 water storage tanks on Tuesday, and limited sales to one per customer.
Upper Hutt City Council posted on Facebook that they had have sold 456 water tanks over the past three months, compared with the 35 sold in 2022.
Additional reporting by Isabella Adams and Rachel Thomas