People in eastern Aotearoa should be hunting shade on Tuesday, with many places expected to get well into the 30s. Wednesday's hot weather comes after a scorcher on Tuesday, where Ashburton and Temuka saw temperatures pushing 40 degrees Celsius, and some roads saw spots of melting. The weather did not let off overnight, with the temperature still at 22.1C in the city about 1am on Wednesday. The hot weather saw water use in Christchurch swell on Tuesday, with 238 million litres used across the city – 41 per cent more than the same day the previous week. The weather is expected to turn on Thursday, with rain and temperatures plummeting to a more manageable high of 22C.

Source: Stuff January 26, 2021 22:15 UTC