Temperature records were broken across the Bay of Plenty last year, with Tauranga, Te Puke and Rotorua all notching up their warmest year on record, according to Niwa’s annual climate summary.
It also reported Tauranga was the wettest of New Zealand’s six main centres and that 2022 was the country’s warmest year on record, beating out the previous record set in 2021 by 0.2C with a mean temperature average of 13.76C.
“It was the warmest year on record for 47 locations, while a further 33 locations experienced annual average temperatures within the top four warmest on record,” the report said.
“No locations experienced a record or near-record cold year.”
Tauranga recorded 1812 millimetres of rain last year, 152 per cent above normal levels.
It comes as 119mm of rain was recorded in Tauranga between January 1 and 10, compared to 22.2mm for the same period last year. In Rotorua, there had been 76mm of rain compared to 0.5mm last year.
Last year was also the warmest year on record in terms of maximum temperatures and minimum temperatures - 1.08C and 1.22C above average, respectively.
La Niña was one of the primary drivers of last year’s weather patterns, with sea surface temperatures above or well above average every month resulting in a marine heatwave for most of the year, the report said.
“Both 2022 and 2021 were La Niña years and are ranked first and second-warmest years on record for New Zealand. 2022 was the third consecutive year of La Niña, known as a ‘triple dip’, an uncommon occurrence that last happened in 1998-2000.”
La Niña tended to be associated with higher-than-normal air pressure near and to the east of the country, with lower pressures to the north.
As an island nation, New Zealand’s weather is directly impacted by sea surface temperatures, and the higher pressure caused more sub-tropical, north-easterly winds than normal, driving up air and sea temperatures.
Warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures can drive up humidity, lead to persistently above-average air temperatures and contribute more moisture to approaching low-pressure systems.
Marine heatwave conditions were most persistent in the Bay of Plenty, Northland, Auckland, Waikato, Taranaki, Tasman, West Coast, and Southland.
Mount Water Bikes, which also operates in Taupō as Taupō Pedal Boats, is a weather-dependent business, and owner Jess Ratana said the weather had been “very disappointing”.
“This summer, we’ve just had no luck. I think we’ve done maybe six days in the Mount, and maybe eight here [in Taupō] since mid-December.
“Very different to last summer – New Year and Christmas period last year we sold maybe 8000 people through in the Mount. I’d say we’re not even at 25 per cent of what we saw by this time last year.
“We opened during Covid in the first lockdown here in Taupō, so we’ve never had an international market. It’s only ever been domestic, and this is our first year of having international visitors, which is a shame. New Zealand has let them down; the weather.”
Ratana felt disappointed for the staff because there had been no work “which is a real shame, especially for them, because it’s supposed to be a busy summer job and they’re not getting any work with the weather”.
Mean temperatures
⋅ Tauranga Airport: 16.3C, the highest since records began in 1913.
⋅ Rotorua: 14C, the highest since records began in 1964.
⋅ Whakatāne: 15.9C, the second-highest since records began in 1974.
⋅ Te Puke: 15.5C, the highest since records began in 1973.
⋅ Taupō: 13.9C, the highest since records began in 1949.
Mean maximum temperatures
⋅ Tauranga Airport: 20.2C, the fourth-highest since records began in 1913.
⋅ Rotorua Airport: 18.3C, the fourth-highest since records began in 1964.
⋅ Whakatāne: 20.6C, the second-highest since records began in 1974.
⋅ Te Puke: 20C, the highest since records began in 1973.
⋅ Taupō: 19.3C, the highest since records began in 1949.
Mean minimum temperatures
⋅ Tauranga Airport: 12.4C, the highest since records began in 1913.
⋅ Rotorua: 9.3C, the third-highest since records began in 1964.
⋅ Whakatāne: 11.1C, the second-highest since records began in 1974.
⋅ Te Puke: 11C, the highest since records began in 1973.
⋅ Taupō: 8.5C, the highest since records began in 1949.