Climate & Weather

Ocean acidification is the name given to the lowering of pH of the oceans as a result of increasing carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.

This helps planners, engineers, asset managers, and hazard analysts in urban councils understand and evaluate the potential impacts of climate change.

New Zealand has just experienced its warmest winter on record, according to official NIWA climate data.

Our southwest Pacific research focuses on recent and historic climate and weather activity, including our involvement in ACRE Pacific data rescue.

At the age of seven, NIWA’s youngest climate scientist, Nava Fedaeff, swapped sub-arctic Siberia for balmy Auckland – and her first job was to learn to swim.

Northern New Zealand
Kaitaia, Whangarei, Auckland, Tauranga
This is a sub-tropical climate zone, with warm humid summers and mild winters. Typical summer daytime maximum air temperatures range from 22°C to 26°C, but seldom exceed 30°C. Winter daytime maximum air temperatures range from 12°C to 17°C. Annual sunshine hours average about 2000 in many areas. Tauranga is much sunnier with at least 2200 hours. SW winds prevail for much of the year. Sea breezes often occur on warm summer days. Winter usually has more rain and is the most unsettled time of year.

The greenhouse effect is a warming of the earth's surface and lower atmosphere caused by substances which let the sun's energy through to the ground but impede the passage of energy from the earth back into space.

Measurements of snowfall at low elevations around New Zealand are few and far between, and yet the data would be really helpful in understanding how snowfall occurs and quantifying snow-related risks.

These datasets are available in a range of formats.

Check out UV index forecasts for locations in New Zealand (including ski fields), Australia, the Pacific and Antarctica.

Due to its position in the 'Roaring Forties', a belt of strong winds in the Southern Hemisphere which generally occur between the latitudes of 40 and 49 degrees, as well as its small size, New Zealand is a windy country.