Coats and beanies are out as residents in the Southern Group islands including Rarotonga and Mangaia battle chilly conditions this week.

According to the Cook Islands Meteorological Service, temperatures in Rarotonga dropped as low as 17 degrees Celsius on Wednesday.

A Meteorological Service spokesperson said: “We are going into our winter season and that’s why it’s getting a bit cooler. According to our forecast there’s fine weather and mainly cool evenings throughout this week. This weather will mostly affect Southern Group islands. People are advised to keep warm during this season.”

Mangaia resident Metua Vaiimene said temperature on the island dropped below 16 degrees this week.

“Just been through our home records and the overnight low last night (Wednesday), of 15.5 degrees, was lower than the (16.4 degrees) lowest overnight temperature for the whole of 2022! So yes this is a chilly spell!” Vaiimene told Cook Islands News.

“Mangaians are resilient, and generally used to cold weather, compared to the other islands. Public events are continuing for example but needless to say, the hoodies and beanies are out.

“This doesn’t seem unusual for this time of the year, but it certainly has been colder the last two nights, and also not getting as hot during the day. The last three winters haven’t been as cold as in the past.”