Shafaqna English– A bitter Antarctic air mass swept across the South Island of New Zealand on Tuesday(4 Aug 2026), bringing heavy snowfall to coastal areas and causing temperatures to plummet to freezing levels, with the extreme conditions prompting authorities to close several major highways and force many schools to cancel classes or shift to remote learning.
The city of Dunedin, which ranks as the South Island’s second-most populous urban center, was completely covered in a thick layer of snow, leading local law enforcement to issue a public safety advisory strongly recommending that residents refrain from all non-essential travel due to the dangerously slick and icy road conditions that had developed across the metropolitan area.
Source: Reuters