Editing Hastings, New Zealand (section)

==Geography and climate==
Located on New Zealand's east coast, to the east of the [[North Island Volcanic Plateau|Central Plateau]] and the [[rain shadow]] of the Kaweka Ranges, Hastings is situated on the fertile [[alluvial]] [[Heretaunga Plains]]. The plains were originally covered in swamp and mangroves, but have since been drained for agriculture.{{Citation needed|date=April 2014}} The local area is very productive, with orchards, farms and vineyards, and lies upon New Zealand's most economically valuable [[aquifer]].<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/MultipageDocumentPage____12535.aspx |title=Economic value of groundwater aquifers |date=2004 |publisher=Ministry of Economic Development |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070629181944/http://www.med.govt.nz/templates/MultipageDocumentPage____12535.aspx |archive-date=29 June 2007 |access-date=21 April 2014}}</ref> Hastings lies roughly 250&nbsp;km north-east of the nation's capital [[Wellington]] (294&nbsp;km by road) and 350&nbsp;km south-east of the largest city, [[Auckland]] (429&nbsp;km by road).

{{Geographic Location
|title     = '''Neighbouring cities, towns and places'''
|North     = [[Napier, New Zealand|Napier]] 
|West      = [[Taihape]] and [[Tongariro National Park]]
|East      = [[Cape Kidnappers]]
|Centre    = Hastings
|Southeast = [[Ocean Beach, Hawke's Bay|Ocean Beach]] and [[Waimarama]]
|South     = [[Waipukurau]]
}}

Hastings enjoys an oceanic [[climate]] (according to [[Köppen climate classification]]). Sunshine hours rank over 2200 annually while rainfall averages less than 800&nbsp;mm (31.5&nbsp;in). It is one of the country's warmest urban areas annually. Because of its location {{convert|15|km|mi|abbr=on}} inland, the sea breeze does not tend to have the same effect on Hastings' climate as it does on Napier. It is not uncommon for the temperature to be in the low 30&nbsp;°C's (90&nbsp;°F) on summer days, while in winter, days of 15&nbsp;°C+ (60&nbsp;°F) are frequent, occasionally exceeding 20&nbsp;°C (68&nbsp;°F) with [[Foehn wind|north-west winds]]. Winters tend to be quite still and crisp with frequent frosts, followed by bright, sunny days.

{{Weather box
|location = Hastings
|metric first = yes
|single line = yes
|Jan record high C = 36.6
|Feb record high C = 37.1
|Mar record high C = 33.4
|Apr record high C = 31.1
|May record high C = 28.1
|Jun record high C = 25.7
|Jul record high C = 23.9
|Aug record high C = 24.9
|Sep record high C = 27.7
|Oct record high C = 31.8
|Nov record high C = 33.9
|Dec record high C = 36.5
|year record high C = 37.1
|Jan high C = 25.5
|Feb high C = 25.4
|Mar high C = 23.6
|Apr high C = 20.7
|May high C = 17.1
|Jun high C = 14.4
|Jul high C = 13.9
|Aug high C = 14.9
|Sep high C = 17.5
|Oct high C = 20.0
|Nov high C = 22.3
|Dec high C = 24.1
|year high C = 20.0
| Jan mean C  = 19.6
| Feb mean C  = 19.7
| Mar mean C  = 17.9
| Apr mean C  = 14.9
| May mean C  = 11.9
| Jun mean C  = 9.2
| Jul mean C  = 8.8
| Aug mean C  = 9.9
| Sep mean C  = 11.8
| Oct mean C  = 14.0
| Nov mean C  = 16.4
| Dec mean C  = 18.4
| year mean C = 14.4
|Jan low C = 13.7
|Feb low C = 14.0
|Mar low C = 12.2
|Apr low C = 9.1
|May low C = 6.7
|Jun low C = 3.9
|Jul low C = 3.6
|Aug low C = 4.8
|Sep low C = 6.1
|Oct low C = 8.0
|Nov low C = 10.4
|Dec low C = 12.6
|year low C = 8.8
|Jan record low C = 2.8
|Feb record low C = 2.4
|Mar record low C = 0.0
|Apr record low C = -3.0
|May record low C = -5.6
|Jun record low C = -5.9
|Jul record low C = -5.0
|Aug record low C = -3.9
|Sep record low C = -3.3
|Oct record low C = -3.1
|Nov record low C = -1.1
|Dec record low C = 2.2
|year record low C = -5.9
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 66
|Feb precipitation mm = 53
|Mar precipitation mm = 61
|Apr precipitation mm = 48
|May precipitation mm = 81
|Jun precipitation mm = 79
|Jul precipitation mm = 64
|Aug precipitation mm = 86
|Sep precipitation mm = 46
|Oct precipitation mm = 46
|Nov precipitation mm = 41
|Dec precipitation mm = 53
|year precipitation mm = 724
|Jan sun = 249.3
|Feb sun = 202.6
|Mar sun = 201.7
|Apr sun = 172.4
|May sun = 155.6
|Jun sun = 130.7
|Jul sun = 134.7
|Aug sun = 166.8
|Sep sun = 181.2
|Oct sun = 213.9
|Nov sun = 216.2
|Dec sun = 233.7
|year sun = 2258.7
|source 1 = NIWA Climate Data<ref name="niwa">{{cite web
|url=http://cliflo.niwa.co.nz/pls/niwp/wgenf.genform1_proc|title=CLINFO|access-date=22 April 2009
|publisher=NIWA}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
|url = https://cliflo.niwa.co.nz/
|title = CliFlo -The National Climate Database (Agent numbers: 3017, 3018, 3025)
|publisher = NIWA
|access-date = 5 Sep 2024}}</ref>
}}