Whanganui was warmer than average last year, with the mean maximum temperature of 18.9C the fourth-highest since records began in 1937.
National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) climate scientist Gregor Macara said the mean temperature for winter - June to August - was 11C, 0.8C higher than average.
“The average daily maximum [in winter] was 15.1C - 1.1C above average,” he said.
“That didn’t break records but it’s definitely notable.”
Mean temperature is the average temperature for a particular period.
Macara said Whanganui, much like the rest of the country, was having a warming trend over a long period.
Last year was New Zealand’s 10th warmest on record.
“In general, I think there is a lack of action when it comes to climate change and wanting to deal with it because it is this thing that’s ticking away in the background,” he said.
“Even when we talk about it being 0.8C warmer than average, there wouldn’t be many people out there that could really, truly sense the difference.
“It’s that insidious, slow creep of climate change.”
The country’s national average temperature for 2024 was 13.25C, just over 0.5C above the 1991-2020 average.
Eight of New Zealand’s 10 warmest years have occurred since 2013.
In Whanganui, the daily minimum temperature of 15.8C on June 10 was the highest for that month since 1972.
Further afield, a maximum air temperature of 25.1C was recorded at Mt Ruapehu’s Chateau Tongariro on December 29, the highest since records began in 2000.
The Chateau had a mean maximum temperature of 13.1C for 2024, the third-highest since records began.
According to Niwa’s seasonal climate outlook, Whanganui will continue to have higher-than-average temperatures from January to March this year, with rainfall equally likely to be near normal or above normal.
Macara said the average daily maximum temperature for Whanganui in December was 22.3C but that dropped to 18.4C for the first week of January.
It would be the lowest for January on record if that average remained, he said.
“Don’t get me wrong, it’s a pretty crappy, cold spell of weather but it is just a spell of weather,” he said.
“At some point soon, the expectation is it will turn to more normal, if not slightly warmer than normal.
“Even next week’s forecast for Whanganui looks pretty decent - mostly dry with temperatures around the 20-21C mark, which isn’t too bad.”
Mike Tweed is a multimedia journalist at the Whanganui Chronicle. Since starting in March 2020, he has dabbled in everything from sport to music. At present his focus is local government, primarily the Whanganui District Council.
