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Last year was the second hottest ever recorded in New Zealand, with the annual mean temperature nearly one degree higher than average.
Winter temperatures were nearly 1.3 degrees above average, which made it the warmest winter since records were first kept 150 years ago.
Climate scientist Jim Salinger of Auckland University says the warmer weather reflects an overall increase in global temperature, which was nearly half a degree higher last year.
Dr Salinger says the impact of greenhouse gases on climate change will continue to push temperatures up in the coming year.