Aussie 8Cdegs below, parts of NZ 8Cdegs above average

Ōtautahi – Climate change is here and changes are needed fast because Australia is 8Cdegs below average and parts of Aotearoa are 8Cdegs above average, forecaster WeatherWatch says.

A large storm in the Southern Ocean is helping to boost temperatures in New Zealand while it's pulling temperatures down in Australia.

The placement of the deep low means it's in between the two nations with a cold southerly spreading across more of Australia while bringing warmer than average northerlies into New Zealand.

It's not often a large portion of Australia is more than eight degrees colder than average and then at the same time parts of New Zealand are more than eight degrees warmer than average, WeatherWatch.co.nz head forecaster Philip Duncan says.

"Australia has snow on the ranges in the south as New Zealanders are switching on the air-con and fans.

“Despite the dramatic swings away from what is normally recorded at this time of year, the temperatures themselves aren't too extreme.

“This is classic mid-spring weather but there will be a lot of Kiwis talking about how warm it is right now while many Australia's will be saying the opposite.”

Cooler air reaches NZ later this week but mostly only the lower half of the South Island. Dunedin's high on Thursday is only 14C and may be as low as 12C this weekend as high pressure moves in with that southerly flow preceding it.

Australian states to see the biggest temperature drop will be South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, SA, ACT and southern parts of NSW.

Adelaide and Melbourne only have highs of 13C today, but they will be closer to 30C by next week in Adelaide and mid 20s in Melbourne.

The nation’s capital, Canberra, has a high of just 12C today and lows tonight and tomorrow down to 3C with a dusting of snow on the mountains and ranges to the south. Highs in the 20s and double digit lows return to Canberra next week.

In New Zealand, the heat will be most noticeable in the east of both islands as the north to north west wind cranks up. Christchurch has a high in the mid20s tomorrow and an overnight low of 17C overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning.

Further north and Hastings will surge to 26C tomorrow with a chance some eastern parts of both main islands may reach 30C inland over the coming days.