Timaru Temperature by Month

The average annual maximum temperature in Timaru, Canterbury, New Zealand is 16°C (61°F), with daytime highs ranging from 11°C (52°F) in July to 20°C (68°F) in January. This page covers monthly averages, day-night differences, and how Timaru compares to cities worldwide.

The climate in Timaru experiences moderate temperature changes, with mild shifts between seasons. At night, temperatures range from 12°C (54°F) in January to 2°C (36°F) in July.

The chart below illustrates the average maximum day and minimum night temperatures in Timaru by month:

The minimum temperature is often recorded between 4 AM and 6 AM, while the highest temperature is usually reached at 3 PM, when the sun's heating effect is strongest. January, the warmest month, gets 194 hours of sunshine.

The chart below shows the average temperature throughout the year:

Timaru's average annual maximum temperature is 16°C (61°F). To put that in context, here's how it compares to a few well-known destinations:

Seville, Spain averages 23°C (73°F) a year, one of the warmer cities in Western Europe, with long hot summers.

Glasgow, Scotland averages 13°C (55°F) a year, mild but often grey, with cold winters and rarely hot summers.

Seoul, South Korea averages 18°C (64°F) a year, with four clear seasons, cold winters, and hot humid summers.

Perth, Australia averages 25°C (77°F) annually, with a classic Mediterranean climate, hot dry summers and mild wet winters.

Temperature alone doesn't tell the whole story, humidity plays a big role in how warm or cold it actually feels. High humidity in summer makes the heat feel more intense, particularly once temperatures climb above 25°C. In winter, the same humidity can make cold air feel sharper than the thermometer suggests.

In the cooler months, when temperatures drop below 10°C, high humidity makes the cold feel more cutting than it would in dry conditions.

In Timaru, July is the coolest month, with average highs of 11°C (52°F) and humidity around 85%, considered very high. For a full picture, see our humidity page.

Climate temperature data is typically calculated as a 30-year average. This smooths out year-to-year variability and gives a more reliable picture of what a place is actually like, rather than what happened in any single unusual year.

The readings come from a range of sources, land-based weather stations, ocean buoys, ships, and satellites. That data is collected by weather services around the world, then pooled, quality-checked, and averaged to produce the climate records you see here.

For cities and regions with significant elevation, altitude is one of the biggest factors shaping local temperatures. As a rule of thumb, temperatures fall by around 6°C for every 1,000 metres gained, so a city at 2,000 metres will typically be around 12°C cooler than a city at sea level in the same region. Higher ground also tends to see more dramatic day-to-night temperature swings, since thinner air loses heat faster after sunset.

For more on Timaru's weather, including monthly rainfall, sunshine hours, and humidity, visit our Timaru climate page.