Christchurch, New Zealand, shivered through its coldest day on record yesterday. And winter has only just begun.
The National Institute of Water amd Atmospheric Research says the paltry maximum temperature of 0.4 degrees Celsius at Christchurch Airport in the official 24-hour period from 9am yesterday to 9am today is the lowest in more than 130 years of record-keeping.
The previous lowest recorded daily maximum temperature in the city was 1.2C measured in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens on July 22, 1918.
Until yesterday, the coldest day maximum at the airport was 1.7C on August 28, 1992, during that year's big snow.