Last year was the hottest year of our lives – to date.

Niwa confirmed that 2022 was the country's hottest year on record since meteorologists started to measure temperatures in 1909.

The record has fallen twice in two years, with 2021 awarded the dubious title 12 months earlier.

This is part of a global trend – heatwaves in summer and winter meant 2022 was the hottest year for France, Spain and the UK.

Across the year, New Zealand's average temperature was 13.8C – 1.2C hotter than the 1981-2010 average typically used as a baseline.

Niwa's records track the mercury at seven sites around the motu. Ten out of the 12 months recorded an above-average temperature: at least 0.5C warmer than normal.

November was much warmer than its predecessors: 1.6C above average.

Even after a highly unusual snowstorm kept temperatures down, October was still 0.2C warmer than normal.

The data indicates chilly nights are becoming less frequent. Minimum temperatures were 1.2C warmer than average.

Meanwhile, maximum temperatures were 1.1C higher.

Last winter was both the warmest and wettest on record, says Niwa.

Overall, 2022 was also the eighth-wettest on record, recording 10 per cent more rainfall than normal.

A marine heatwave played a role.

Lasting much of the year, the warmer seas kept air temperatures high. The conditions also created more moisture, which was picked up by storms and deposited over the country.

The North Egmont weather station saw the highest daily rainfall of the year, when 692mm fell in just 24 hours.

Of the six main centres, Auckland was the warmest, Tauranga was the wettest and Hamilton was the sunniest.

But Taranaki received the accolade for the sunniest spot in the country, with 2659 hours of sunshine – nearly 80 more than Nelson, the second sunniest.

The country has experienced a wet start to 2023.

A tropical storm drenched Northland and Coromandel last week, before Cyclone Hale brought fresh rain to the waterlogged North Island.

Climate change creates storms that are more frequent and powerful. Warm air is able to hold more water vapour, meaning a storm is capable of producing heavier downpours.

Parts of Aotearoa will experience longer spells between rain, increasing the risk of drought conditions.

Moving over warmer seas, tropical cyclones pick up additional speed. Heat in the atmosphere causes the oceans to expand, driving sea level rise – meaning a storm is even more likely to cause coastal flooding.

-Olivia Wannan/Stuff.