The Tide Chart www.thetidechart.com September 2026 · generated 6 Sep 2026, 02:24
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Christchurch · September 2026 02:24 · UTC+12
New Zealand Canterbury 43.533° S · 172.633° E

Christchurch Tide Times

Tide predictions, solunar fishing times and marine weather for Christchurch, New Zealand — updated daily, free forever.

Falling
-0.7 m
Low in 3h 6m
-0.8 m at 05:30

The water level is falling. Next low tide in 3 h 06 min (05:30).

06:48 18:08 Coefficient 53 · average Calculated for Christchurch's local time · UTC+12

At a glance

Wind 0 kn from E · gust 7 kn Waves — No data Fish activity Fair 2 major + 2 minor periods Air temp 9° feels like 8° Water temp 11° Sea surface Pressure 1005 hPa Rising UV index 1 Low exposure Coefficient 53 46 morning · 53 afternoon

Pick a date

September 2026

Tides

Low 05:30 · -0.8 m High 11:50 · 0.9 m Low 18:10 · -0.8 m
High Low Daylight · 11h 19m Major Minor

L 05:30 -0.8 m H 11:50 0.9 m L 18:10 -0.8 m

Interpolated estimate · FES2022 global tide model · heights referenced to Mean Sea Level · Pacific/Auckland (UTC+12) · Why might this differ?

HAT
0.9 m
highest astronomical tide
MSL
0.0 m
mean sea level — the chart's zero
LAT
-0.8 m
lowest astronomical tide

The sun rises at 06:48 and sets at 18:08. Today brings 1 high tide and 2 low tides: high water at 11:50 (0.9 m); low water at 05:30 (-0.8 m) and 18:10 (-0.8 m). The sun crosses the local meridian at 12:27, its highest point of the day.

Hour by hour

Interpolated heights · Sunday 6 September
HourHeightTrend
00:00 -0.5 m ↘ Falling
01:00 -0.6 m ↘ Falling
02:00 -0.6 m ↘ Falling
03:00 -0.7 m ↘ Falling
04:00 -0.8 m ↘ Falling
05:00 -0.8 m ↘ Falling
06:00 -0.8 m ↗ Rising
07:00 -0.6 m ↗ Rising
08:00 -0.3 m ↗ Rising
09:00 0.2 m ↗ Rising
10:00 0.6 m ↗ Rising
11:00 0.8 m ↗ Rising
HourHeightTrend
12:00 0.9 m ↘ Falling
13:00 0.8 m ↘ Falling
14:00 0.5 m ↘ Falling
15:00 0.0 m ↘ Falling
16:00 -0.4 m ↘ Falling
17:00 -0.7 m ↘ Falling
18:00 -0.8 m ↘ Falling
19:00 -0.8 m ↗ Rising
20:00 -0.7 m ↗ Rising
21:00 -0.7 m ↗ Rising
22:00 -0.6 m ↗ Rising
23:00 -0.6 m ↗ Rising

Sea & weather now

Conditions at Christchurch right now, in station-local time.

Air temp 9°C Overcast · feels like 8° · H 10° · L 8°
Water temp 11°C 11° to 11° today
Wind 0 kn E · Force 0 · Calm · gusts 7 kn
Humidity 70% Dew point 4°
Visibility 24 km Cloud cover 100%

Next 24 hours

temperature · wind · rain · humidity
00:00 Overcast 10° 4 NNW 0% 0.0 67%
02:00 Overcast 9° 0 E 0% 0.0 70%
04:00 Overcast 9° 4 S 0% 0.0 69%
06:00 Overcast 9° 5 ENE 0% 0.0 79%
08:00 Overcast 9° 5 ENE 63% 0.0 86%
10:00 Light drizzle 9° 7 ESE 97% 0.1 89%
12:00 Light drizzle 9° 9 ESE 90% 0.3 91%
14:00 Drizzle 9° 4 SSE 90% 0.5 95%
16:00 Drizzle 9° 3 SSW 90% 0.8 95%
18:00 Light drizzle 8° 1 S 90% 0.3 94%
20:00 Dense drizzle 8° 2 ENE 95% 1.2 96%
22:00 Drizzle 8° 0 S 99% 0.8 96%
23:00 Drizzle 8° 2 SW 100% 0.7 96%

Rain chance and millimetres per hour, then relative humidity. Scroll for the rest of the day.

Fishing barometer

1005 hPa ↗ Rising
  • Rising Very good — today Rising pressure after a low signals settling weather — fish feed confidently and this is often the best barometer window of all.
  • Stable Normal activity A steady barometer for a day or more means settled conditions and predictable, average feeding around tides and solunar peaks.
  • Falling Good at first A dropping barometer sparks a burst of feeding before the weather turns, then activity slows markedly as the front arrives.
min 1002 hPa max 1007 hPa Hover, tap or arrow-key the line to read any hour.

The barometer is rising, which usually switches feeding back on: fish sense settling conditions and move to feed with confidence. A rising trend after a spell of low pressure is one of the strongest signals to get out on the water.

UV index

solar protection

UV 1

Low

Low exposure — no sun protection is needed for most people. Enjoy the water freely.

1–2 · Low
Little risk — most people need no sun protection.
3–7 · Moderate to high
Wear a hat, sunglasses and SPF 30+, and take shade around midday.
8+ · Very high to extreme
Use SPF 50+, cover up and stay out of the sun through the middle of the day.
Water temperature 11° Ranges 11° to 11° today
11°
0 h
11°
2 h
11°
4 h
11°
6 h
11°
8 h
11°
10 h
11°
12 h
11°
14 h
11°
16 h
11°
18 h
11°
20 h
11°
22 h
11°
24 h

The sea surface holds around 10.8° today, moving between 10.7° and 10.9°. Water temperature sets the pace of fish metabolism, so even a small shift can change where fish hold and how actively they feed.

Outlook

Next 7 days
  • Sun 6 Light drizzle 10°/8° 9 kn
  • Mon 7 Light drizzle 10°/6° 8 kn
  • Tue 8 Overcast 12°/5° 8 kn
  • Wed 9 Clear sky 13°/5° 7 kn
  • Thu 10 Clear sky 12°/4° 12 kn
  • Fri 11 Partly cloudy 15°/2° 15 kn
  • Sat 12 Clear sky 13°/1° 11 kn

Air quality

Good · EAQI 20

Air quality is good. Ideal conditions for all outdoor and on-water activities, including for sensitive groups.

O₃ Ozone Good 38.7µg/m³ Forms in sunlight; can irritate airways at high levels. Bar is scaled to 130 µg/m³, where the "poor" band starts.
PM10 Good 3.5µg/m³ Coarse particles from dust, sea spray and traffic. Bar is scaled to 50 µg/m³, where the "poor" band starts.
PM2.5 Good 2.4µg/m³ Fine particles that reach deep into the lungs. Bar is scaled to 25 µg/m³, where the "poor" band starts.

Bands follow the European Air Quality Index; the day's index is its worst hour, each pollutant its daily mean. Air quality from CAMS.

Weather & marine data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0) · times are Christchurch local time.

Tidal coefficient · September

Bigger coefficients mean larger tides and stronger currents
Sunday 6 September 53 Average

Morning 46 · afternoon 53

Month range 20 – 104

Heights this month span -1.0 m to 1.0 m above the chart datum

Biggest tides: 10–12 Sep (coef 104) · Quietest stretch: 18–19 Sep (coef 20)

September 2026 — hover, tap or arrow-key a bar to read that day

Very high High Average Low

A larger coefficient means a wider gap between high and low water, so the strongest currents run along the sea bed. Tidal range also shifts with the weather — check the wind and swell before you head out.

Solunar

Feeding windows from the moon's transit, rise and set — the free solunar rating for Christchurch.

Best fishing times today

Fair

Solunar theory rates today a fair day for fishing at Christchurch — plan around the major and minor periods below.

Minor Average activity

03:07 – 04:07

Moonrise

Major Peak activity

06:43 – 08:43

Moon overhead (lunar transit)

Overlaps sunrise or sunset
Minor Average activity

11:22 – 12:22

Moonset

Major High activity

19:15 – 21:15

Moon underfoot (opposing transit)

Major period Minor period Daylight

Major periods track the moon's transit and opposing transit and run about two hours; minor periods open at moonrise and moonset and last about an hour. When a period lands on sunrise or sunset, activity climbs higher still — and that overlap happens today.

Moon

Sunday 6 September
Last quarter 31% illuminated · 24.0 days old Moonrise 03:37 · Moonset 11:52 · transit 07:43 Visible for 8h 14m
rise 03:37 · 49° NE set 11:52 · 310° NW transit 07:43
11 SEP New Moon 15:26 in 5 days
19 SEP First Quarter 08:43 in 13 days
27 SEP Full Moon 05:49 in 21 days
04 OCT Last Quarter 02:25 in 28 days

Planner

When to go this week, and which days of September are worth the drive.

Bite windows

Sunday 6 September

Fish feed hardest when the water starts moving — plan around the hour before and after each tide turn.

Low tide turn

04:30 – 06:30

Water bottoms out at 05:30 then starts to rise.

High tide turn

10:50 – 12:50

Water peaks at 11:50 then starts to fall.

Low tide turn

17:10 – 19:10

Water bottoms out at 18:10 then starts to rise.

Best days in September

Ranked by tidal coefficient — pick a day to load it.

Quietest stretch: 18–19 Sep (coef 20)

Astronomical observation · moon, sun and Earth

today, 6 September 2026
Moon Distance Earth–Moon 368,508km Angular diameter 0° 32′
Sun Distance Earth–Sun 150,807,779km Angular diameter 0° 32′

Daylight & twilight

Station local time
Golden hour, blue hour and twilight times at Christchurch today, morning and evening.
LightMorningEvening
Golden hourSoft, warm light — the photographer's window 06:31 – 07:27 17:29 – 18:25
Blue hourDeep even blue just past the sun 06:20 – 06:31 18:25 – 18:36
Civil twilightBright enough to work without lights 06:20 – 06:48 18:08 – 18:36
Nautical twilightHorizon still visible at sea 05:46 – 06:20 18:36 – 19:09
Astronomical twilightThe last trace of sunlight 05:13 – 05:46 19:09 – 19:43

Lighting the Earth at this moment

02:24 UTC+12 · 6 September 2026 · equirectangular, 180°W → 180°E
Day and night world map showing where Christchurch sits right now

The bright band marks where the Sun stands overhead right now; the pin is Christchurch. As the Earth turns, the day-and-night line sweeps westward and this map refreshes with the local clock.

Tide table

September 2026
Tide times, heights, coefficient and fishing activity for every day of September 2026 at Christchurch.
Day Moon Sun 1st tide 2nd tide 3rd tide 4th tide Coefficient Activity
1 Tue 84% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:57 Sunset18:02 01:00 -0.9 m low tide 07:10 0.8 m high tide 13:20 -0.8 m low tide 19:30 0.8 m high tide 79 · High Good
2 Wed 75% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:55 Sunset18:03 01:40 -0.9 m low tide 08:00 0.8 m high tide 14:10 -0.8 m low tide 20:20 0.8 m high tide 66 · Average Good
3 Thu 65% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:53 Sunset18:04 02:40 -0.8 m low tide 08:50 0.8 m high tide 15:10 -0.8 m low tide 21:20 0.7 m high tide 51 · Average Fair
4 Fri 54% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:52 Sunset18:05 03:30 -0.8 m low tide 09:50 0.8 m high tide 16:10 -0.8 m low tide 22:20 0.7 m high tide 35 · Low Slow
5 Sat 42% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:50 Sunset18:06 04:30 -0.8 m low tide 10:50 0.9 m high tide 17:10 -0.8 m low tide 23:20 0.7 m high tide 39 · Low Slow
6 Sun 31% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:48 Sunset18:08 05:30 -0.9 m low tide 11:50 0.9 m high tide 18:10 -0.8 m low tide 53 · Average Fair
7 Mon 21% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:46 Sunset18:09 00:20 0.8 m high tide 06:30 -0.9 m low tide 12:50 1.0 m high tide 19:10 -0.9 m low tide 69 · Average Good
8 Tue 12% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:45 Sunset18:10 01:20 0.8 m high tide 07:30 -0.9 m low tide 13:50 1.0 m high tide 20:10 -0.9 m low tide 83 · High Fair
9 Wed 6% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:43 Sunset18:11 02:10 0.8 m high tide 08:20 -1.0 m low tide 14:40 1.0 m high tide 21:00 -1.0 m low tide 95 · Very high Excellent
10 Thu 2% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:41 Sunset18:12 03:10 0.9 m high tide 09:20 -1.0 m low tide 15:30 1.0 m high tide 21:50 -1.0 m low tide 102 · Very high Excellent
11 Fri 0% illuminated · waning Sunrise06:39 Sunset18:13 04:00 0.9 m high tide 10:10 -1.0 m low tide 16:30 1.0 m high tide 22:40 -1.0 m low tide 104 · Very high Excellent
12 Sat 1% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:37 Sunset18:14 04:50 0.9 m high tide 11:10 -1.0 m low tide 17:20 1.0 m high tide 23:30 -1.0 m low tide 101 · Very high Excellent
13 Sun 4% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:36 Sunset18:15 05:40 0.9 m high tide 12:00 -1.0 m low tide 18:10 0.9 m high tide 93 · Very high Excellent
14 Mon 9% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:34 Sunset18:16 00:20 -1.0 m low tide 06:40 0.9 m high tide 12:50 -0.9 m low tide 19:00 0.9 m high tide 82 · High Excellent
15 Tue 16% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:32 Sunset18:17 01:10 -0.9 m low tide 07:30 0.9 m high tide 13:40 -0.8 m low tide 19:50 0.8 m high tide 68 · Average Good
16 Wed 24% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:30 Sunset18:19 02:00 -0.8 m low tide 08:20 0.8 m high tide 14:30 -0.7 m low tide 20:40 0.7 m high tide 54 · Average Slow
17 Thu 33% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:28 Sunset18:20 02:50 -0.8 m low tide 09:10 0.8 m high tide 15:20 -0.7 m low tide 21:30 0.7 m high tide 39 · Low Fair
18 Fri 42% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:27 Sunset18:21 03:40 -0.7 m low tide 10:00 0.7 m high tide 16:10 -0.6 m low tide 22:20 0.6 m high tide 25 · Low Slow
19 Sat 51% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:25 Sunset18:22 04:30 -0.7 m low tide 10:50 0.7 m high tide 17:00 -0.6 m low tide 23:10 0.6 m high tide 20 · Low Slow
20 Sun 61% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:23 Sunset18:23 05:10 -0.6 m low tide 11:40 0.7 m high tide 17:50 -0.6 m low tide 29 · Low Fair
21 Mon 70% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:21 Sunset18:24 00:00 0.6 m high tide 06:00 -0.7 m low tide 12:20 0.7 m high tide 18:40 -0.7 m low tide 43 · Low Fair
22 Tue 78% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:19 Sunset18:25 00:50 0.6 m high tide 06:50 -0.7 m low tide 13:10 0.8 m high tide 19:20 -0.7 m low tide 57 · Average Fair
23 Wed 86% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:17 Sunset18:26 01:30 0.6 m high tide 07:30 -0.7 m low tide 13:50 0.8 m high tide 20:10 -0.7 m low tide 71 · High Fair
24 Thu 92% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:16 Sunset18:28 02:10 0.7 m high tide 08:20 -0.8 m low tide 14:30 0.8 m high tide 20:50 -0.8 m low tide 84 · High Excellent
25 Fri 97% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:14 Sunset18:29 02:50 0.7 m high tide 09:00 -0.8 m low tide 15:10 0.8 m high tide 21:30 -0.8 m low tide 94 · Very high Excellent
26 Sat 99% illuminated · waxing Sunrise06:12 Sunset18:30 03:30 0.7 m high tide 09:40 -0.8 m low tide 15:50 0.8 m high tide 22:10 -0.9 m low tide 100 · Very high Excellent
27 Sun 100% illuminated · waning Sunrise07:10 Sunset19:31 02:50 0.6 m high tide 03:00 0.3 m low tide 05:20 0.8 m high tide 11:30 -0.9 m low tide 102 · Very high Excellent
28 Mon 98% illuminated · waning Sunrise07:08 Sunset19:32 06:00 0.8 m high tide 12:20 -0.9 m low tide 18:20 0.8 m high tide 100 · Very high Excellent
29 Tue 94% illuminated · waning Sunrise07:06 Sunset19:33 00:40 -0.9 m low tide 06:50 0.9 m high tide 13:10 -0.9 m low tide 19:10 0.8 m high tide 92 · Very high Excellent
30 Wed 87% illuminated · waning Sunrise07:05 Sunset19:34 01:30 -0.9 m low tide 07:40 0.9 m high tide 14:00 -0.9 m low tide 20:10 0.8 m high tide 80 · High Excellent

Biggest tides: 10–12 Sep (coef 104) · Quietest stretch: 18–19 Sep (coef 20) · Morning 46 · afternoon 53. Predicted levels run between -1.0 m and 1.0 m this month.

Heights are metres above the station's chart datum, so the biggest tides can dip just below zero. Every time shown is Christchurch local time, with daylight saving already applied.

Nearby

Other tide stations close to Christchurch, ranked by distance.

Fishing sites near Christchurch

this station in gold · nearby stations in green

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

All Canterbury locations

Timaru New Brighton Pegasus Lyttelton Amberley Diamond Harbour Leithfield Governors Bay Scarborough Akaroa Kaikoura Pareora Cass Bay Charteris Bay Clandeboye Clarence Goose Bay Hundalee Little Akaloa Makikihi Mangamaunu Morven Normanby Oaro Okains Bay Otaio Peketa Pigeon Bay Rakautara Rapaki

Frequently asked questions

Tides, coefficients and fishing times for Christchurch, explained.

What time is high tide in Christchurch today?

High water at Christchurch today is at 11:50. The full list of high and low tide times is in the table above and refreshes every day.

Is today a good day to fish in Christchurch?

Based on solunar theory the fishing rating today is Fair. The strongest windows are the major periods around the lunar transit, which often line up with sunrise and sunset.

What is the tidal coefficient and why does it matter?

The coefficient runs from 0 to 120 and measures the tidal range — today it is 53 (Average). Higher numbers mean stronger currents and a bigger gap between high and low water, which matters for fishing, diving and boating.

When are sunrise and sunset in Christchurch today?

The sun rises at 06:48 and sets at 18:08 local time, giving 11h 19m of daylight.

What is the water temperature in Christchurch today?

The sea surface at Christchurch is around 10.8°C right now. Water temperature sets the pace of fish metabolism, so the hourly strip above is worth a glance — even a small shift can change where fish hold and how actively they feed.

Data: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0) · CAMS · OpenStreetMap · GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) · FES2022 — CNES/AVISO/LEGOS · IP geolocation by DB-IP (CC BY 4.0)

Estimates for planning only — not for navigation or safety-critical use. · 51.254.44.216/nz/canterbury/christchurch