Climate change

NIWA is developing a national river flow forecasting tool for New Zealand that aims to support and strengthen our planning for and response to extreme rainfall events.

Stories of tremendous forest fires, huge storm events, and suffocating heatwaves have dominated headlines over the past few years. We instinctively feel that our weather is getting wilder. Are we finally living through those climate change warnings we’ve heeded for decades?

A marine heatwave is happening all around New Zealand. Warmer waters are more pleasant for swimming in and can create wilder weather. But what do they mean for fishing? Let’s dive into the science behind getting a good catch.

This Wednesday 22nd December, the sun reaches its highest position in the sky. It will be the Southern Hemisphere’s longest day of the year. Also known as the summer solstice, it marks the start of astronomical summer. But hang on, didn’t summer already begin? 

Coastal sea temperatures around Aotearoa New Zealand have risen well above average, NIWA forecasters say.

Almost half of Aotearoa New Zealand’s CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture. This is a much higher proportion than most other countries – globally, agricultural emissions average around 7.5% of a country’s total emissions.

New NIWA-led research shows increasing flood risk is going to be what leads people to make changes to adapt to sea-level rise.

Aotearoa New Zealand has just experienced its warmest winter on record – well exceeding the previous record which was set just last year.

Without the global CFC ban we’d already be facing the reality of a “scorched earth”, according to researchers measuring the impact of the Montreal Protocol.

New Zealand has just experienced its warmest June and July since records began in 1909 and – with one month to go - is on track for its second successive warmest winter on record.

Flood flows on the Buller River this month were the largest of any river in Aotearoa New Zealand in almost 100 years, NIWA measurements show.

Preliminary analysis by NIWA climate scientists has shown that the recent Canterbury rainfall was so extreme in some inland places that it could be expected to happen only once every 200 years.