Summer in New Zealand officially ends on the last day of February, as the standard meteorological summer runs from December 1 to February 28 (or 29 in a leap year). From March 1, it is considered autumn, even though the weather can still feel quite summery in many places.

Official season dates

  • Meteorological summer in NZ: December, January, February.
  • Summer ends on February 28 (or 29), with March 1 marking the start of autumn.
  • Many NZ travel and climate guides also describe summer as “December to February,” matching this convention.

But what about “real feel” summer?

Some Kiwis think of summer as lasting into early March, especially when hot, settled weather hangs on. Climate researchers looking at the warmest 90 days of the year show that the practical “summer period” can shift slightly year to year, sometimes starting earlier or later than the calendar definition. Still, for everyday use (school terms, tourism info, official stats), summer is treated as ending with February.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.