Auckland

**Auckland** is the largest city in New Zealand. About 2 million people live in the Auckland region. For a short time in New Zealand's history it was the capital city. Now Wellington is the capital city.

Auckland is in the north of the North Island. It is on two harbours: the Manukau and Waitemata harbours. It is known as the "City of Sails" because there are many sailing boats in the city. The Hauraki Gulf has many different islands and provides safe anchorage and good sailing that is recognised around the world. It has a temperate oceanic climate (_Cfb_ in the Köppen climate classification).

Auckland is built on a series of dormant volcanos. The youngest and largest of these is called Rangitoto. Rangitoto is an island just a few kilometres from the city centre. It has many pohutukawas, native trees also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree because of their brilliant red flowers which bloom in December.

In 2010, Len Brown became the 1st Mayor of Auckland. In 2016, he was replaced by Phil Goff.

## Climate

According to the NIWA, Auckland has a subtropical climate, with warm, humid summers and mild, rainy winters. Under Köppen's climate classification, the city has an oceanic climate (_Cfb_). It is the warmest main centre of New Zealand and is also one of the sunniest, with an average of over 2000 sunshine hours per annum. The average daily maximum temperature is  in February and  in July. The absolute maximum recorded temperature is , while the absolute minimum is . High levels of rainfall occur almost year–round with an average of  per year spread over 136 rain days, but is most frequent in Winter. Snowfall in Auckland is extremely rare; recorded instances include 27 July 1939 and 15 August 2011, although without any accumulation.

The early morning calm on the isthmus during settled weather, before the sea breeze rises, was described as early as 1853: "In all seasons, the beauty of the day is in the early morning. At that time, generally, a solemn stillness holds, and a perfect calm prevails...". Many Aucklanders use this time of day to walk and run in parks.

Auckland occasionally suffers from air pollution due to fine particle emissions. There are also occasional breaches of guideline levels of carbon monoxide. While maritime winds normally disperse the pollution relatively quickly it can sometimes become visible as smog, especially on calm winter days. The west of Auckland is slightly wetter and cooler than the eastern side, with the gulf islands being warmer and drier still.

## Related pages

- Hobsonville, a part of Auckland

## Infobox (settlement)

- **name**: Auckland
- **settlement type**: Urban areas of New Zealand, Metropolitan city
- **nicknames**: City of Sails
Queen City
- **pushpin map**: New Zealand#Oceania
- **pushpin label position**: left
- **pushpin relief**: yes
- **pushpin map caption**: Location in New Zealand##Location in Oceania
- **subdivision type**: Country
- **subdivision name**: New Zealand
- **subdivision type1**: List of islands of New Zealand, Island
- **subdivision type2**: Regions of New Zealand, Region
- **subdivision name1**: North Island
- **subdivision name2**: Auckland Region, Auckland
- **established title**: Settled by Māori
- **established title1**: Settled by Europeans
- **established date1**: 1840
- **named for**: George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland
- **parts type**: Local boards
- **p1**: Hibiscus and Bays Local Board, Hibiscus and Bays
- **p2**: Upper Harbour Local Board, Upper Harbour
- **p3**: Kaipātiki Local Board, Kaipātiki
- **p4**: Devonport-Takapuna Local Board, Devonport-Takapuna
- **p5**: Waitākere Ranges Local Board, Waitākere Ranges
- **p6**: Henderson-Massey Local Board, Henderson-Massey
- **p7**: Whau Local Board, Whau
- **p8**: Albert-Eden Local Board, Albert-Eden
- **p9**: Puketāpapa Local Board, Puketāpapa
- **p10**: Waitematā Local Board, Waitematā
- **p11**: Ōrākei Local Board, Ōrākei
- **p12**: Maungakiekie-Tamaki Local Board, Maungakiekie-Tamaki
- **p13**: Māngere-Ōtāhuhu Local Board, Māngere-Ōtāhuhu
- **p14**: Otara-Papatoetoe Local Board, Otara-Papatoetoe
- **p15**: Howick Local Board, Howick
- **p16**: Manurewa Local Board, Manurewa
- **p17**: Papakura Local Board, Papakura
- **p18**: Franklin Local Board, Franklin
- **p19**: Rodney Local Board, Rodney
- **area metro km2**: 3358.8
- **elevation max m**: 196
- **area urban km2**: 605.67
- **elevation min m**: 0
- **population density urban km2**: auto
- **population density metro km2**: auto
- **population blank1 title**: Auckland Region
- **population blank2 title**: Demonym
- **population blank2**: Aucklander
- **postal code type**: Postcode(s)
- **postal code**: 0600–2699
- **area code**: 09
- **governing body**: Auckland Council
- **leader title2**: MPs
- **timezone**: Time in New Zealand, NZST
- **utc offset**: +12:00
- **timezone dst**: NZDT
- **utc offset dst**: +13:00
- **blank name**: Local iwi
- **blank info**: Ngāti Whātua, Tainui, Ngāti Ākarana (pan-tribal)
- **leader title**: Mayor of Auckland, Mayor
- **leader name**: Wayne Brown (New Zealand politician), Wayne Brown
- **leader name1**: Desley Simpson
- **leader title1**: Mayor of Auckland#Role of deputy mayor, Deputy Mayor
- **seat type**: New Zealand Parliament, NZ Parliament
- **demographics type2**: GDP
- **demographics2 title1**: Auckland Region
- **demographics2 info1**: New Zealand dollar, NZ$ 139.5 billion (2022)
- **demographics2 title2**: Per capita
- **demographics2 info2**: NZ$ 80,300 (2022)