Wellington weather by month & the best time to visit
🇳🇿 New Zealand · seaside town · oceanic / maritime climate
The best time to visit Wellington is February — its sunniest month (Sunshine Score 83/100), with January close behind. Wellington averages about 2,510 hours of sunshine a year. Daytime highs around 20°C / 68°F and roughly 58 mm of rain in February.
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- Sun hours / year
- 2,510
- Sunniest month
- February
- Peak score
- 83/100
- Rain / year
- 857 mm
- Midday UV at peak
- 10 (very high)
- Sea at warmest
- 19°C / 66°F
- Population
- 393k
- Elevation
- 5 m
When is the best time to visit Wellington?
For sunshine, the best time to visit Wellington is February, then January. The dullest month is July (26/100, 86 mm of rain). The full month-by-month picture is in the table below.
How sunny is Wellington?
Wellington gets a lot of sun: around 2,510 hours a year. 57 Sunshine Score points separate February (83) from July (26), so the month you pick matters. It ranks #3 of 26 destinations in New Zealand for annual sunshine, above the national median of 2,342 hours. The year's 857 mm of rain spreads fairly evenly across the months, with no pronounced dry season.
Sunshine Score by month
| Month | Score | Day high | Night low | Rain | UV | Sea |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 77 | 19° / 66°F | 15° / 59°F | 51 mm | 10 | 19° / 66°F |
| February | 83 | 20° / 68°F | 15° / 59°F | 58 mm | 8 | 18° / 64°F |
| March | 69 | 18° / 64°F | 14° / 57°F | 58 mm | 6 | 17° / 63°F |
| April | 54 | 16° / 61°F | 13° / 55°F | 70 mm | 3 | 16° / 61°F |
| May | 39 | 14° / 57°F | 11° / 52°F | 80 mm | 2 | 15° / 59°F |
| June | 32 | 13° / 55°F | 10° / 50°F | 92 mm | 1 | 14° / 57°F |
| July | 26 | 12° / 54°F | 9° / 48°F | 86 mm | 1 | 13° / 55°F |
| August | 26 | 12° / 54°F | 9° / 48°F | 82 mm | 2 | 13° / 55°F |
| September | 34 | 13° / 55°F | 10° / 50°F | 70 mm | 3 | 14° / 57°F |
| October | 40 | 14° / 57°F | 10° / 50°F | 77 mm | 5 | 14° / 57°F |
| November | 55 | 16° / 61°F | 12° / 54°F | 64 mm | 7 | 16° / 61°F |
| December | 67 | 18° / 64°F | 14° / 57°F | 69 mm | 9 | 17° / 63°F |
Sea temperature in Wellington by month
The sea off Wellington is warmest in January at around 19°C / 66°F, and coolest in July at 13°C / 55°F. It never reaches comfortable swimming temperatures (21°C+). Month-by-month sea-surface temperatures are in the Sea column of the table above.
See Wellington on the interactive sunshine globe →
Nearby places for sunshine
- Blenheim New Zealand · 81 km · best in Feb · 2,486 h sun/yr
- Palmerston North New Zealand · 131 km · best in Jan · 2,196 h sun/yr
- New Plymouth New Zealand · 263 km · best in Jan · 2,321 h sun/yr
- Napier New Zealand · 271 km · best in Feb · 2,256 h sun/yr
- Christchurch New Zealand · 304 km · best in Feb · 2,377 h sun/yr
- Tauranga New Zealand · 424 km · best in Jan · 2,513 h sun/yr
Nearest destinations
- Picton New Zealand · 71 km · 2,486 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Nelson New Zealand · 132 km · 2,486 h sun/yr · best in Feb
- Wanganui New Zealand · 153 km · 2,180 h sun/yr · best in Jan
Head-to-head
How Wellington compares month by month: Wellington vs Christchurch · Wellington vs Palmerston North · Wellington vs New Plymouth · Wellington vs Blenheim · all comparisons
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