If you want to develop your listening skills, try the tasks below as you listen to the text. The answers are at the bottom of this page. Thanks to Natasha Groves for preparing the tasks.
If you want to listen and read, just scroll down to the news story.
You can use the vocabulary list to check the meanings of some words before you listen.
Vocabulary
gust – a sudden, strong movement of wind
gale – a very strong wind (check the explanation in the text as well)
geography – in this context, the physical features around a city
predominant – most common
westerly, northerly – wind that comes from the west, north
air pollution – dangerously dirty air
wind turbine – a tall structure with pieces that are turned by the wind
Try these activities while listening
1. Listening for main ideas
First, just listen to the text, taking notes if you wish. What information can you catch during this first listening?
2. Now listen again and answer the following questions:
- What is the average wind speed in Wellington?
- What is the speed of a gale-force wind?
- How often are there gale-force winds in Wellington?
- What and when was the highest ever recorded windspeed?
- Which three geographical features contribute to the winds in Wellington?
- Who is often surprised by Wellington’s strong winds?
- What are two advantages of the wind in Wellington?
- How much electricity does the Makara wind farm generate?
News story
Today is Wellington Anniversary Day. If you want to learn more about anniversary days, click on this link to listen to the story from 2025.
Wellington is often called Windy Wellington, and with good reason. It is widely regarded as the windiest city in the world. The average wind speed is 27 kilometres (or 17 miles) per hour, but gusts of wind are often much stronger. According to MetService, there are gale-force winds – that is, gusts of at least 63 kilometres per hour – on 178 days of the year. The highest ever recorded windspeed is 248 kilometres per hour, recorded on Hawkins Hill (near Brooklyn in Wellington) in 1959 and 1962.
The main reason for the winds in Wellington is the geography around the city. There is a mountain range north of Wellington called the Tararua Range, the sea between the North and South Islands called Cook Strait, and another mountain range at the top of the South Island called the Marlborough Ranges. When the predominant westerly wind flows through the gap between the mountain ranges, over Cook Strait, it speeds up. In addition, when the land in Marlborough at the top of the South Island heats up on a warm, sunny day, the air above the land also heats up and rises. As a result, an area of low air pressure forms over Marlborough, and that produces more wind which blows as a northerly across Cook Strait.
Most Wellingtonians are used to the strong winds, but when people first move to or visit the city, they are often surprised by them. There is not much point using an umbrella on a windy rainy day, as it can blow inside-out! One advantage of the wind is a lack of air pollution. Another advantage is wind power. There has been a wind turbine on a hill in Brooklyn, to the south of the central city, since 1993. It can now generate enough electricity for around 490 homes. A wind farm with 62 wind turbines has been operating since 2009 in Makara, west of Wellington. It generates enough electricity for around 73,000 average homes.
Answers – you don’t have to write a complete sentence as long as you have the key idea in your answer.
a. What is the average wind speed in Wellington?
27 kilometres (or 17 miles) per hour
b. What is the speed of a gale-force wind?
At least 63 kilometres per hour
c. How often are there gale-force winds in Wellington?
178 days of the year
d. What and when was the highest ever recorded windspeed?
248 kilometres per hour, in 1959 and 1962
e. Which three geographical features contribute to the winds in Wellington?
A mountain range north of Wellington, the sea between the North and South Islands, and another mountain range at the top of the South Island
f. Who is often surprised by Wellington’s strong winds?
People when they first move to or visit the city
g. What are two advantages of the wind in Wellington?
A lack of air pollution; wind power
h. How much electricity does the Makara wind farm generate?
Enough electricity for around 73,000 average homes