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Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Tauranga temperatures warming up to be one of the hottest on record

Zoe Hunter
By Zoe Hunter
NZ HeraldĀ·
21 Jan, 2018 08:30 PM5 mins to read

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Are you feeling the heat this summer? Photo/file

Are you feeling the heat this summer? Photo/file

Feeling the heat? That's because Tauranga's average temperature for January is warming up to be one of the hottest on record.

Meteorologist Tom Adams said the average January temperature for Tauranga is 19.5C, compared to the average so far for January 2018 - 21.2C. The hottest Tauranga average temperature for January was 21.4C in 1999.

Adams said if the average temperature for January so far stayed the same it would be equal to the city's second-hottest on record, which was 21.2C in 2015.

"It is continually tracking to be among the hottest. Things are looking like they will stay warmer than the average," he said.

"It is one of the hottest on record but it is going to have to do a little bit more if it wants to beat the 1999 record."

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Tauranga would experience a sprinkling of rain this week with plenty of cloud at times, Adams said.

"We are in this humid air mass which means lots of clouds . . . and there still could be some falls of rain today and tomorrow and a few showers on and off throughout the week," he said.

Nationwide, January 2018 temperatures were looking like the hottest in New Zealand's recorded history.

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Climate scientist Jim Salinger said if the average temperature for the month slides up only half a degree, it may be the hottest month since records first began.

The average January temperature is 17.1 degrees centigrade, the average so far for January 2018 was 19.3C - the hottest since records began in 1909.

Though temperatures keep warm over NZ on Monday with the northerly flow rain is in store for most of the North Island with heavy rain watches in force for Northland and Taranaki. For more check out https://t.co/hnwmGxU1gR ^AC pic.twitter.com/Lk8F6VE694

— MetService (@MetService) January 20, 2018

The second warmest January was in 1956 when the average was 18.8C.

Salinger had downloaded the climate data from Niwa's seven stations which were used to calculate New Zealand's average temperature.

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The stations are located at Auckland Airport, Kelburn in Wellington, Masterton Airport, Hokitika Airport, Nelson, Lincoln near Christchurch and Musselburgh, Dunedin.

With 10 days left in January the average temperature was unlikely to drop given there were no "cool southerlies in the weather projections".

"The door to the southern oceans is shut.

"For the next period in the end of the month there is nothing cold coming from the south, the ocean temperature in the South Island is two degrees warmer than average," Salinger said.

The last time #Auckland got below 15C was the final night of 2017! You can check max and min temps in your town or city at https://t.co/hnwmGxU1gR and scrolling to the 'Past Weather' heading. Low temps for tonight below ^AC pic.twitter.com/BTFMR2SJnq

— MetService (@MetService) January 20, 2018

There was a possibility also that January could take over February as the hottest month in recorded history.

"It could increase further, what's interesting is if it will exceed the warmest month which was February 1998 at 19.6 degrees."

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Behind that was February 2016 at 19.5C.

"Another half degree would make it the hottest month ever, right now it [January] is the third warmest month ever."

In general, temperatures were 0.9C higher than 1909 which showed there had been "a certain amount of global warming".

An update on New Zealand's #marineheatwave: while the difference from normal isn't as extreme as it once was, the heatwave persists -- the Tasman Sea is approximately 1.1 degrees above average and some areas near NZ remain 5.0 degrees above average 🌊🌔 pic.twitter.com/MWPZtYeIvV

— Ben Noll (@BenNollWeather) January 20, 2018

"It's telling me the thing that has caused the December heatwave and the marine heatwave is still going.

"The highs are crossing the Tasman Sea and stopping east of the country, the eastern flow is stopping any stormy stuff coming across the Tasman".

The country was in the middle of a marine heatwave which was marked to continue to February.

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"It will be interesting to see what the impacts of the marine heatwave will have on marine life, especially shellfish and kelp.

"One would expect with global warming to have it [the record] exceeded in the future, at the moment we are in very favourable weather patterns".

February 2018 like January could be the warmest on record.

If that was the case then it was possible that this summer would be the hottest in recorded history, he said.

Speaking of the Tasman Sea #marineheatwave, here's a detailed look at recent conditions: on average, the Tasman Sea is running about 1.3 degrees above average with some areas still as warm as 5.0 degrees above average šŸ”„ pic.twitter.com/JdzjJATyFI

— NIWA Weather (@NiwaWeather) January 18, 2018

MetService meteorologist Sarah Haddon said January had seen Invercargill and Dunedin break their hottest temperature records which was a good indication there had been some "unseasonably hot weather this month".

Dunedin Airport hit 34.8C on January 16 and Invercargill Airport hit 32.3C on January 14.

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The heat was also being felt in Australia with areas in Victoria, New South Wales and Western Australia over the weekend hitting 40C as the country suffered through a heatwave which was now entering day five.

Additional reporting NZME

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