With sunny days forecast for the rest of the month, Christchurch is chasing a 56-year record for its sunniest January ever.
The city needs another 40 hours of sunlight before the end of the month to break a record set in 1957.
The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research says that year Cantabrians enjoyed 288.1 hours of sunlight in January.
With 249 hours of sunlight recorded this month, the city now needs to see an average of 13 hours of sunlight a day until the end of the month to breach the record.
MetService spokesperson Dan Corbett says that the feat is possible, but may be a “bit of a stretch”.
The forecast was fine and dry until the end of the month, but a morning cloud over the next few days could rob the city of the record.
“I think maximum sunshine per day now is around 13 hours,” he says, “so it’ll be close. It’ll be the morning cloud that will be the determining factor.”
Clear skies and warm temperatures are forecast for the rest of the month, with a strong high sitting over the Canterbury coast – so the count will be close.
3 News
source: newshub archive
