A cold and early winter has been replaced by an unusually warm and early spring, in a rare act of symmetry by the weather gods.

Forecasters have confirmed what people and plants might already sensed – winter has disappeared long before the official first day of spring.

Spring arrives on Tuesday, but already August looks likely to set records for heat.

Niwa weather data for the first three weeks of the month showed average temperatures about one degree higher than usual for this time of year.

Climate scientist Jim Salinger of the World Meteorological Organisation predicted this month would break the record average temperature of 10C set in 1987 to become the hottest August since records began.

Niwa climate scientist Georgina Griffiths said it seemed as though spring had come early.

Though many would think it only fair to have an early spring to compensate for an early winter, she said the warmth was just a random result of “swings and roundabouts” in natural climate cycles.

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