Climate & Weather

A weekly update describing soil moisture across the country to help assess whether severely to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing these soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.

A weekly update describing soil moisture across the country to help assess whether severely to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing these soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.

New Zealand winters are a month shorter than they were 80 years ago, NIWA scientists say.“This is a consequence of rising temperatures around the globe, and such trends in colder temperatures and frosts will influence the life cycle of plants and animals” - Dr Brett Mullan.

A weekly update describing soil moisture across the country to help assess whether severely to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing these soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.

A large area of high pressure will take up residence east of New Zealand for the next few days, bringing more unusual springtime warmth to parts of the South Island from tomorrow through to late next week, says NIWA forecaster Seth Carrier.

A weekly update describing soil moisture across the country to help assess whether severely to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Across the North Island, soil moisture levels have generally not changed significantly during the past week, while across the South Island, soil moisture levels have generally decreased.

An immense dome of high pressure stretched across the Tasman Sea onto the South Island yesterday, bringing the highest temperatures across New Zealand since April.

The first weekly update for the 2017-18 summer describing soil moisture across the country to help assess whether severely to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent.

A dramatic change in sea ice this year is likely to hamper a NIWA-led research project aiming to better understand how ice shelves will melt as the ocean warms.

An air flow extending from Australia on Thursday and Friday may bring near-record warmth to parts of the interior South Island, says NIWA forecaster Ben Noll. A large area of high pressure to the northwest of New Zealand will help steer this warm air across the Tasman Sea.

Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Outlook: Near-normal season expected, but with increased activity west, reduced activity east

A decade of scientific research into how ocean acidification is affecting New Zealand waters has led to far greater understanding of the vulnerability of our marine ecosystems, according to a newly published review.