WELLINGTON, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand's average annual temperature increased by 1.36 degrees Celsius over the 117 years to 2025, while rainfall patterns shifted across the country, official data showed on Friday.
The country's average annual temperature has been recorded since 1909, with 2022 being the warmest year on record at an average of 13.76 degrees Celsius. The year 2012 was the last with an average temperature below the 1991-2020 baseline of 12.74 degrees Celsius, Stats NZ reported.
Data from New Zealand's 30 climate stations showed average annual temperatures increased across the country, with temperatures rising fastest in winter and slowest in spring, Stats NZ environment statistics spokesperson Tehseen Islam said in a statement.
Rainfall patterns were more complex. From 1960 to 2025, nine climate stations recorded an increase in average annual rainfall, and six recorded a decrease, Stats NZ said, adding the South Island was generally getting wetter, while rainfall trends varied across the North Island.
Islam said changing rainfall, particularly increased spring rainfall, could affect farmers, fisheries and hydroelectricity generation.
Extreme rainfall also accounted for an increasing share of annual rainfall at 11 of the 30 stations, while three recorded a decrease between 1960 and 2025, according to Stats NZ.
Separately, carbon dioxide concentrations in New Zealand's atmosphere reached 423.1 parts per million in December 2025, up 5.5 percent from December 2016, with methane and nitrous oxide concentrations also showing increasing trends, the department said. ■
