On 1 July 2025, NIWA merged with GNS Science to become Earth Sciences New Zealand.

Climate & Weather

Understanding our variable and changing climate is critical for managing resources and reducing risks.

  • El Niño maps and charts

    View a collection of maps showing the impact of past El Niño and La Niña events.
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    Obtaining climate data from NIWA

    NIWA maintains the national climate database for New Zealand, and can supply data in a variety of ways.
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    Map W South

    Education Resource
    The climate of this area is greatly dependent on its exposure to weather systems from the Tasman Sea and the lie of the Southern Alps to the east.
  • Coldest seawater discovered

    Feature story
    The coldest seawater on earth could help scientists understand why Antarctic sea ice is growing in a warming world
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    Common climate and weather terms

    Education Resource
    Confused about El Niño, or can't tell the difference between an Anticyclone and an Isobar? Let us help.
  • Northland

    Northland, with its northern location, low elevation and close proximity to the sea is characterised by a mild, humid, and rather windy climate.
  • New Zealand Drought Monitor

    Service
    The New Zealand Drought Monitor is a system for keeping track of drought conditions across New Zealand based on a standardised climate index.
  • Clouds

    Education Resource
    Common questions about clouds, how they are formed and how they behave.
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    Floods

    Education Resource
    River floods occur when water spills from a river channel onto land that is normally dry, and are one of New Zealand's costliest natural hazards.
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    Mean monthly sunshine (hours)

    These datasets are available in a range of formats.
  • Generating synthetic wind data

    Research Project
    NIWA has recently created synthetic, multi-year, 10-minute wind datasets at 15 wind farm sites across New Zealand. These will be used by the Electricity Commission to model the impact of wind farms on the national grid.