December: Dry, Mild and Cloudy
December in Kāpiti, had average temperatures and its usual low rainfall for that month, but was considerably less sunny than normal. We ended another year again avoiding any extreme weather.
Our daily average maximum temperature was 21.5C, almost, exactly the month’s longtime average of 21.6, which we would have reached had not the last day of the month been unusually cool. This December was very slightly warmer than 2023. The highest temperature was 27C on Dec. 21, and there were only five days that didn’t reach 20C.
Rainfall over the district was unusually variable and associated with thunder storms on several occasions, one of which totally missed eastern Paraparaumu, resulting in it recording 10mm less rain than Waikanae for the month. The official monthly total recorded at the airport was 76mm, at Waikanae 84mm and at my place (Paraparaumu) 73mm. The historic average (airport) is 78mm. The frequency of forecasters predicting possible showers and rain watches continued, mostly without any worthwhile rain eventuating.
The equivalent of only 14.5 sunny days was the lowest in a decade, with almost every day beginning with cloud, and frequently with a trace of drizzle that took most of the morning to burn-off.
Records show January (our driest month) should see even less rain, amounting to only 45mm and temperatures averaging 23C with 18 sunny days.
Poll: 🤖 What skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
The Reserve Bank has shared some pretty blunt advice: there’s no such thing as a “safe” job anymore 🛟😑
Robots are stepping into repetitive roles in factories, plants and warehouses. AI is taking care of the admin tasks that once filled many mid-level office jobs.
We want to know: As the world evolves, what skills do you think give a CV the ultimate edge in a robot-filled workplace?
Want to read more? The Press has you covered!
-
52.5% Human-centred experience and communication
-
14.7% Critical thinking
-
30.1% Resilience and adaptability
-
2.7% Other - I will share below!
Share your favourite main crop potato recipe and win a copy of our mag!
Love potatoes? We will give away free copies of the May 2026 issue to readers whose potato recipes are used in our magazine. To be in the running, make sure you email your family's favourite way to enjoy potatoes: mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, by March 1, 2026.
Some Choice News!
DOC is rolling out a new tool to help figure out what to tackle first when it comes to protecting our threatened species and the things putting them at risk.
Why does this matter? As Nikki Macdonald from The Post points out, we’re a country with around 4,400 threatened species. With limited time and funding, conservation has always meant making tough calls about what gets attention first.
For the first time, DOC has put real numbers around what it would take to do everything needed to properly safeguard our unique natural environment. The new BioInvest tool shows the scale of the challenge: 310,177 actions across 28,007 sites.
Now that we can see the full picture, it brings the big question into focus: how much do we, as Kiwis, truly value protecting nature — and what are we prepared to invest to make it happen?
We hope this brings a smile!
Loading…
