People were treated to a gloriously sunny Hawke's Bay day yesterday, as temperatures soared to 29C - adding to what has already been a record-breaking year.
It is the latest in a string of high temperatures hitting the country, with the region getting the biggest dose of the sun's rays.
Niwa meteorologist Ben Noll said 2016 had already been the warmest on record for January through to November and December was expected to be no different.
"2016 is tracking to be the warmest on record. It is a combination of an El Nino in January, which provided relatively warm weather. The second player was warmer than average sea surface temperatures around New Zealand and the third player is climate change with the propensity for heat waves to increase."
These abnormal weather conditions are not unique to New Zealand, with similar records being broken across the globe.