Five of the last 10 years have been ranked in the top 10 hottest years ever on record, with 2016 ranked first.
2019 is set to join that list shortly and is likely to be ranked in the top five, according to NIWA.
They say in the past 10 years, more weather records have been broken than in any other decade in New Zealand's history.
The World Meteorological Organisation says, globally, the last decade has been 'one of exceptional heat and almost certainly the hottest on record.'
Waitangi Day in 2011 was the warmest day of the decade, reaching 41.3C in Timaru.
That was New Zealand's fourth highest temperature on record.
Tara Hills, near Dunedin recorded the coldest temperature for the decade at -21.0C, as well as the fourth coldest in history in 2015.
Whangārei topped the list as the most consistently warm place in New Zealand, with the highest maximum and average daily temperatures, 20.36C and 16.25C.
Takahe Valley in Southland had the coldest maximum and mean daily temperature for the decade, 9.61C and 5.06C.
Whakatāne was the sunniest place to be, an average of 7.12 hours of sunshine per day and Gore had the sunniest single day on 23 December last year.
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