It has been another day of blazing heat, with the central South Island bearing the brunt of it as temperatures reached the high thirties.
Otago, again, was the centre for scorching temperatures as Middlemarch, Northwest of Dunedin, peaked at 37.4C at 4pm, The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research reported.
But the heat was set to end from Thursday as cool air from the Southern oceans was mooted to significantly drop temperatures in the South Island.
The scolding heat in Middlemarch marked the tenth hottest January temperature on record for the country.