New Zealand's winter shorter by a month over 100 years

Studies by National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research show season has contracted equally at its beginning and end

New Zealand’s winter has gotten shorter by a month over the last 100 years, meaning “true winter” weather with very low temperatures, frosts and snow starts significantly later in the year and ends earlier.

Brett Mullan, from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), crunched the temperature records from two 30-year-periods over the last century to see if New Zealand was experiencing the same contraction of winter weather noted in other parts of the world.

Related: US winter has shrunk by more than one month in 100 years

The temperatures are rising, they are milder, they are also starting half a month later and ending half a month earlier