A new national record has officially been set for the hottest day in June, in records that date back to the 1850s.
The mercury reached a toasty 25.7C in Heretaunga/Hastings on Monday, according to NIWA. That crushed the former record of 25.4C in June 1988.
The balmy temperature also set a new record for winter months (June to August) in the North Island/Te Ika a Māui.
NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll said it was due to several interacting factors.
"We’ve seen an unseasonably warm air mass over New Zealand that originated in the Coral Sea," he said.
"This combined with something called a foehn northwesterly air flow, which came over the North Island and warmed as it descended the terrain of the Central Plateau and blew into Hawke's Bay."
Noll also said a new national record in June is in line with Aotearoa's long-term warming trend.
"We’re seeing fewer cold extremes and more warm extremes," he added
Other parts of the country also topped 20C on Monday, including Tūranganui/Gisborne and Tai Tokerau/Northland.
It came as daily highs across the south struggled to get above 10C for many towns and regions.
