Average Monthly Sunshine in Christchurch

Sunshine is key to understanding how a place experiences its seasons. This page shows the total number of hours of direct sunlight per month and the average hours per day in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand. Long-term data from 1990 to 2020 was used to calculate these averages.

Monthly hours of sunshine

Seasonal sunshine in Christchurch varies. It peaks at 238 hours in January and drops to 117 hours in June. The total annual amount of sun is 2129 hours.

Daily hours of sunshine

This means the city can be enjoyed more throughout the sunniest month of January under a blue sky, with approximately 7.9 hours of sunshine daily. In contrast, the city experiences much darker days in June, with only 3.9 hours of sunlight per day.

Christchurch’s total hours of sunshine compared to other major cities

Christchurch enjoys an average of 2129 hours of sunshine annually. Let’s compare this with some popular tourist destinations:

Athens, Greece, enjoys 2769 hours of sunshine each year, making it one of the sunniest destinations in the Mediterranean region.

In contrast, Tromsø , Norway, receives only about 1270 hours of sunshine per year, known for the polar night with no sunlight for weeks during winter.

Osaka, Japan, experiences 2010 hours of sunshine annually, with bright, sunny weather in spring and autumn.

Melbourne, Australia, has 2380 hours of sunshine annually, with its famous “four seasons in a day” weather pattern.

Other climate information

June, Christchurch’s wettest month, receives 49 mm of rainfall and has a maximum daytime temperature of 12°C. During the driest month March you can expect a temperature of 21°C.

For more detailed insights into the city’s temperatures, check out our Temperature page. To explore more about precipitation patterns, visit our Christchurch Precipitation page.