<P> The South Island contains a little under one - quarter of the population . Over three - quarters of New Zealands population live in the North Island, with one - third of the total population living in the Auckland Region . Auckland is also the fastest growing region, accounting for 46 percent of New Zealand's total population growth . Most Māori live in the North Island (87 percent), although a little under a quarter (24 percent) live in Auckland . New Zealand is a predominantly urban country, with 86.5 percent of the population living in an urban area . About 73.0 percent of the population live in the 17 main urban areas (population of 30,000 or more) and 53.8 percent live in the four largest cities of Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington, and Hamilton . </P> <P> The main factors that influence New Zealand's climate are similar to those found in the British Isles--the temperate latitude, with prevailing westerly winds; the oceanic environment; and the mountains, especially the Southern Alps . The climate is mostly temperate with mean temperatures ranging from 8 ° C (46 ° F) in the South Island to 16 ° C (61 ° F) in the North Island . January and February are the warmest months, July the coldest . New Zealand does not have a large temperature range, apart from central Otago, but the weather can change rapidly and unexpectedly . Near subtropical conditions are experienced in Northland . </P> <P> Most settled, lowland areas of the country have between 600 and 1600 mm of rainfall, with the most rain along the west coast of the South Island and the least on the east coast of the South Island and interior basins, predominantly on the Canterbury Plains and the Central Otago Basin (about 350 mm PA). Christchurch is the driest city, receiving about 640 mm (25 in) of rain per year, while Hamilton is the wettest, receiving more than twice that amount at 1325 mm PA, followed closely by Auckland . The wettest area by far is the rugged Fiordland region, in the south - west of the South Island, which has between 5000 and 8000 mm of rain per year, with up to 15,000 mm in isolated valleys, amongst the highest recorded rainfalls in the world . </P> <P> The UV index can be very high and extreme in the hottest times of the year in the north of the North Island . This is partly due to the country's relatively little air pollution compared to many other countries and the high sunshine hours . New Zealand has very high sunshine hours with most areas receiving over 2000 hours per year . The sunniest areas are Nelson / Marlborough and the Bay of Plenty with 2400 hours per year . </P>

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