SUMNER HUMIDITY DECLARED 'HAIR HAZARD' AFTER THREE INCIDENTS ON THE ESPLANADE

Sumner residents are being warned to approach the beachfront with caution after a muggy easterly turned the suburb's collective hair into what one witness described as "a bloody navigation hazard".

The humidity, unusual for Canterbury and generally regarded as Auckland's problem, settled over the bay on Tuesday afternoon and refused to leave. By 3pm, three separate hair-related incidents had been logged at the dairy end of the Esplanade, including a fringe that reportedly knocked over a stand of $4 sunnies.

Local Hine Whittaker, 34, said she'd given up halfway to the beach. "Left the house with a ponytail. Arrived at the playground looking like I'd been electrocuted by a hairdryer. My kid didn't recognise me. Genuinely asked where mum was."

A woman walking two retrievers near Cave Rock said the dogs had also expanded. "Buddy's normally a medium. He's currently a large. Possibly an extra large. I can't see his eyes and he can't see the ball."

A Christchurch City Council spokesperson said humidity was "not within council's remit" but acknowledged the nor'wester was "due back Thursday, which should sort it one way or the other". Asked whether "sort it" meant fix it or make it worse, the spokesperson said "yes".

The sunglasses stand has been righted. The fringe, last seen heading toward Scarborough, has not.