The past decade has been the hottest on record for New Zealand, with 2019 sitting in the top 5 hottest years according to NIWA. Meanwhile, the World Meteorological Organisation says globally the last decade has been one of exceptional heat and almost certainly the hottest on record. “And hot for any part of the world.”It also happened to be the fourth-highest hottest temperature ever recorded in New Zealand, and the hottest day of the last decade. It also shows that five of the last 10 years have ranked somewhere in the top 10 warmest years on record – including 2016 which was New Zealand’s hottest year on record. But for the record the hottest temperature was 38.4 deg C at Hanmer Forest on January 31.

Source: Otago Daily Times December 30, 2019 01:07 UTC