How does new zealands ize affect the climate?
As a relatively narrow group of islands, the country by and large enjoys a marine climate, sometimes described as a Mediterranean Climate. However in the centre south of the South Island, the climate becomes more Continental - cold in the winter, and hot in the summer. These parts are 60 - 100 km from the coast.Being a mountainous country, altitude affects the local climate significantly. And in the dryer basins downwind of the Alps, the climate is arid and hot in the summer.Regions close to the coast have their climate and rainfall dominated by local coastal conditions - generally wetter. .