Parts of Canterbury are sweltering under record temperatures as the mercury tips 40 degrees Celsius and authorities restrict water use. Temuka reached 40.1C at 1.30pm on Tuesday, and was moving into the top 10 hottest temperatures on record in New Zealand, according to Canterbury Weather Updates. Rangiora in North Canterbury holds the record maximum of 42.4C recorded in 1973, with Christchurch recording 41.6C that same year. NIWA Previous heat records for Canterbury. Ashburton and Temuka reached 40.2C and 40.1C respectively on Tuesday and had the potential to beat their records by the end of the day, Canterbury Weather Updates director Russell Voice said.

Source: Stuff January 26, 2021 06:11 UTC