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Metservice
The east coast of the South Island has the highest temperatures in the country.
Strong winds from the northwest have given Timaru its hottest April day on record, and have also wreaked havoc on emergency services trying to contain several fires on the South Island.
The southern city of Canterbury rose 30.6 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the warmest April day since records began in 1962.
MetService meteorologist Andy Best said Timaru not only recorded the highest temperature in the country on Sunday, but was also hotter than Rarotonga, which was 29.8 degrees Celsius.
The closest Timaru has been to 30.6 ° C before Sunday was in 1978 when it reached 29.4 ° C.
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Temperatures rose on the east coast of the South Island, with Ashburton at 28.6 ° C, Christchurch at 28 ° C, Oamaru at 26.7 ° C and Dunedin at 26 ° C.
JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON / Stuff
Diners at Riverside Market in Christchurch, where temperatures have reached 28 degrees Celsius.
The northwesterly wind that drives the high temperatures is also wreaking havoc.
New Zealand Fire and Emergency teams are responding to several rural fires in Southland, Otago and South Canterbury, with high winds preventing helicopter deployment in most areas.
In a Sunday afternoon stage, 37 household appliances and tanker trucks were involved throughout the region.
Fire permits have been suspended in Otago.
By 2.30pm, crews were fighting three separate fires in Southland: two within 3 miles of each other in the Waimea Valley, and another near Dacre.
Occupants of three properties are preparing to evacuate near Fairlie, south of Canterbury, as crews of five rural and four urban brigades fight a forest plantation fire, which started around noon.
Rural Fire Deputy Chief Officer Ray Gardner said there were five engines, five tankers and three excavators at the site with the most resources on the way, including the Timaru command unit.
The fire started in a forestry operations area and had begun to spread to standing trees, but efforts to prevent it from spreading further have been successful so far. Gardner said conditions were tough with high winds and smoke.
Near Owaka, two helicopters and four ground crews are fighting a fire that has rekindled from a previous rural burn.
And near Waikouaiti, fire crews are working to protect a home after two workshops were destroyed by a fire that had started in a tree line.
Fire crews attended several incidents with reports of downed power lines and trees in the Temuka area north of Timaru.
A spokeswoman for Fire and Emergency NZ said a tree fell into power lines on Seven Sisters Rd shortly after noon Sunday and started a small vegetation fire.
A team of Pleasant Point firefighters attended the 30-meter by 10-meter blaze.
Around the same time, a power pole snapped in half on Gammack St, also in Temuka, blocking the road for a period of time, he said.
“All these events are related to the wind, we have several fires in the South Island.
“The wind is making things worse.”
MORNING REPORT / RNZ
Parliament has declared a climate emergency noting the “devastating impact” volatile weather will have on New Zealand. (First published December 2020)
There are also warnings for some parts of the country.
MetService high wind advisories are in effect for the North Island in the Tararua and Wairarapa district north of Masterton, as well as Wellington, Wairarapa from Masterton to the south.
The MetService says winds are expected to reach 120 km / h and strong gusts of wind could damage trees, power lines and unsafe structures. Driving can be dangerous, especially for high-sided vehicles and motorcycles.
Most of the warnings have been in effect since 8 a.m. M. Until 1 p. M. From Sunday to the South Island. While the warnings, in some places, on the North Island extend until 2pm on Monday.
