January in Kāpiti: Warmest place in Central NZ
Kāpiti-Horowhenua was the warmest place in central New Zealand, and was very dry and sunny, although a little cooler than normal as was most of the country.
Our daily average maximum temperature was 22.2C, one degree cooler than the longtime average and two degrees cooler than January 2024. Most unusually, temperatures in eastern regions such as Wairarapa, Marlborough and Nelson were lower than ours. It was as if east and west had been reversed. Persistent southerlies were likely responsible and affected these regions to a greater extent than in Kāpiti, but did cause our chilly mornings and resulted in five days that did not reach 20C. The highest temperatures of just under 29C were experienced over the last weekend.
Most of the month experienced drought conditions with virtually no rain. Only in the first and last weeks was there some rain with most of the around 55mm falling on the last few days. The historic average is 45mm.
Sunshine amounting to the equivalent of 20.5 sunny days was two above average and the same as January 2024, offering some compensation for December’s lowest in a decade.
February’s weather is usually very similar to January’s, but with signs of autumn becoming evident as the sun lowers in the sky.
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!
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!
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52.7% Human-centred experience and communication
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14.7% Critical thinking
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29.8% Resilience and adaptability
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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.
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