Hot weather is on the way for much of New Zealand with some parts of the North Island set to scorch in almost 30C temperatures on Wednesday.
Most parts of the country will have hotter-than-normal weather for the rest of the week, according to MetService, with below normal rainfall for some districts.
Forecasters say the hike will see temperatures in the early 30s later this week and early next.
The hot weather comes as New Zealand becomes caught up in a "big dry" from Australia. A statement from WeatherWatch said a belt of high pressure is also encouraging "warmer airflows".
"As a very large area of low pressure engulfs the Southern Ocean skies south of NZ and Aussie next week, high pressure should stay stuck over the top of NZ bringing more dry weather into eastern areas and keeping warmer than normal west to north-west airflows moving through."
While the odd day may bring cooler winds, the general theme for much of the country is warmer than normal weather, the statement said.
Temperatures throughout the country will hover between the mid and late 20s on Wednesday. Hawke's Bay is the place to be with 29C expected in Hastings while sunny Napier is expected to live up to its name with 27C.
