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Australia & Oceania·Natural Disaster·Energy

Rare snowfall brings delight to New Zealand as Antarctic cold snap grips the country

Wednesday, 5 August 2026, 06:29 · 1 min read

An Antarctic cold front sweeping across New Zealand has brought rare snowfall to Wellington (the country's capital on the North Island's southern tip) for the first time in 15 years, with office workers rushing into the streets to celebrate the unusual flurries. In Dunedin, a university city on the South Island, residents made the most of the conditions by snowboarding through streets and skiing down Baldwin Street — recognised by Guinness World Records as the world's steepest street. The cold snap has also caused road closures, a missed landing at Christchurch airport, and prompted Transpower, the national grid operator, to warn of a possible energy shortfall as electricity demand reached a record peak.

Sources
The GuardianNew Zealand capital delights in rare snowfall as southern city residents ski down world’s steepest street ↗︎
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