New Zealands hottest temperature of 42.3 degrees Celsius in Rangiora in February 1973 remains in place, but a few contenders got close to the mark on Tuesday.
Ashburton and Temuka made it to the top 10 temperatures of all time in New Zealand, with 40.2C and 40.1C respectively.
Akaroa recorded its hottest temperature of all time, peaking at 38C, while Cheviot also had its hottest day, tipping the thermometer at 39C.
Ella Porter cools off in the tide during Tuesdays heatwave.
All fire permits were suspended in Canterbury on Tuesday morning after firefighters spent the previous 24 hours containing a 31-hectare fire at Pines Beach in North Canterbury, and an earlier blaze in Christchurchs Redcliffs suburb.
READ MORE:* Christchurch residents restricted to watering gardens on alternate days* Parts of Christchurch asked to conserve water while rain delays widespread restrictions* Water restrictions for Banks Peninsula
Homeowner Darren Le Breton explains how close Monday’s fire at Pines Beach came to destroying his family home.
While the heat may not be quite as extreme on Wednesday, with Christchurch’s temperature forecast to hit 34C, the wind could be stronger, which could mean an even greater fire risk.
It would cool off later in the week though, when a cool southwest change brought some rain on Thursday. The city was expected to hit only 22C on Thursday and 16C on Friday.
Kim Churchill in Amberley said she got a few jobs done outside on her lifestyle block before it got too hot on Tuesday.
Jia Wang and mum You Chao Wang enjoy a walk in the tide at Brighton to cool off.
I was planning on going to the beach but it was too hot to even be outside, you cant do much in this weather, she said.
She ended up staying inside with her 3-year-old son, consuming icy drinks and keeping the air conditioning on.
Weve been putting ice cubes in our dogs water, and just making sure our animals have plenty of water and shade if possible … we have chickens, cows and sheep.
Churchill said the wind had picked up by the evening, but what the area needed was some rain.
I just keep hoping some rain will definitely be coming by Thursday, its so dry out here.
Mr Whippy went down well with the adults on Cambridge Tce during Tuesday’s heat.
The heat also had ramifications for passengers on the train from Picton to Christchurch after the rails heated and expanded.
A KiwiRail spokesperson said speed restrictions were put in place on the Main North Line on Tuesday afternoon as a precautionary measure in response to the high temperatures in Canterbury.
This meant the Coastal Pacific journey took about 90 minutes longer to reach Christchurch.
While we understand that the longer journey might cause some inconvenience for passengers, safety is paramount.
Previous heat records for Canterbury.
The spokesperson said speed restrictions were a standard safety practice used both in New Zealand and internationally in hot weather.
Rails in direct sunshine can be as much as 20C hotter than air temperature and can expand in high temperatures.
As conditions reached the mid-30s in Christchurch and across Canterbury into the evening, Fire and Emergency (Fenz) urged people across Canterbury to be extra vigilant about potential fire dangers.
The soaring temperatures came as the Christchurch City Council increase water restrictions from level 2 to 3 for Akaroa, Duvauchelle and Takamatua on Banks Peninsula.
An update from the council said the increasingly hot and windy conditions were putting pressure on water supplies.
In hot weather and strong winds we can see those streams losing a litre of water per second from their already low flow rates, council head of three waters and waste Helen Beaumont said.
When theyre only flowing at several litres per second, that loss makes a huge difference to the amount of water we can safely take from them.
Rangiora holds on to its top temperature record, but only by the skin of its teeth.
