'It's making everyone grumpy' - low sunshine hours taking its toll on New Zealanders

Try as it might, thick cloud is keeping the sun away this June, and it's got some people feeling blue.

Low sunshine hours in some parts of the country are taking their toll on the moods of Kiwis.

Christchurch is on track for its dullest June with just 18.2 hours so far.

The city's average sunlight for the month of June is 117.1 hours.

One Christchurch woman told 1 NEWS she's forgotten what sunshine looks like.

"It's making everyone grumpy and the kids," another woman in the Garden City said.

Wellington's cloud cover has also prevailed with just 31.6 hours of sunlight this month, with an average for the month of 99.1 hours.

"I've been feeling a lot less keen to get up and do things, bit more depressed. It's sad looking out the window in the morning and seeing no sun," one Wellingtonian said. 

Dunedin's had 46.4 hours of sun so far. It's June average is 95.1 hours.

Psychiatrist Tony Fernando said a lack of light can affect sleep, mood, alertness and immune function.

A lack of sun exposure can mean the mood-boosting hormone serotonin lessens. This can be responsible for causing winter depression, known as seasonal affective disorder.

Mr Fernando said exercising and making an effort to get the most of sunlight when it is around can help people during gloomy weather.

He said bright light therapy glasses have been popular among his clients in Auckland, which can help combat the winter blues.

Sunlight is measured by MetService with digital recorders and several Campbell-Stokes recorders, including one at its head office in Wellington.

The antique technology was invented by John Francis Campbell in 1853 and is one of the oldest devices still used by meteorologists around the world today.

Sun shines through a glass globe on the device, burning parchment behind it for meteorologists to measure.

A longer burn mark means a sunny day. 

Some days in Wellington this month measured no sun at all.

MetService is transitioning to a fully automated recording system, for convenience and greater accuracy. While Campbell-Stokes recorder's have a possible six minute inaccuracy, with digital recorders this is reduced to one minute of potential inaccuracy. 

MetService meteorologist Lisa Murray said a high ridge of pressure will bring sunshine to Christchurch and most of the country tomorrow and Saturday. 

That's welcome news for sports players in Christchurch with sports field restrictions on play due to sodden grounds lifting in time for this weekend. A fortnight of field closures have stopped some games from going ahead.

In Wellington, it's hoped there'll be less restrictions for field use this weekend, a council spokesman said. Fields have been closed during the week stopping sports teams from training.

A low will move up the country on Sunday bringing rain and cloud, before more sun is forecast to shine from next Wednesday.

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