Climate & Weather

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

Drought forecasting dashboard

NIWA and MPI are working together to develop a new drought forecasting tool. It uses innovative climate modelling, the latest in machine learning and other data-driven techniques to predict rainfall 35 days ahead. It will help farmers and growers better prepare for periods of dryness and drought.

Climate and weather

Research

Explore

Services

Explore

Education

Explore

  • Link to source page

    (no image provided)

    Early Christmas present for Antarctic researchers

    News article
    08 December 2014
    In a small green laboratory perched on the rocky volcanic southern peninsula of Ross Island, Antarctica, there’s a space waiting for a new shiny, hi-tech Christmas present.
    Antarctica
    Climate change
    Greenhouse and trace gases

  • Link to source page

    NIWA's Hotspot Watch 5 December 2014

    Hotspot
    05 December 2014
    Weekly update to help media assess likelihood of extremely dry weather preceding a drought. Regions experiencing severely to extremely drier than normal soils conditions are deemed “hotspots”.

  • Link to source page

    (no image provided)

    Scientist turns detective on NZ temperature records

    News article
    03 December 2014
    A NIWA climate scientist is awaiting a ruling from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) on whether New Zealand’s coldest recorded temperature will be accepted as an official world weather extreme.

  • Link to source page

    NIWA's Hotspot Watch 28 November 2014

    Hotspot
    28 November 2014
    Weekly update to help media assess likelihood of extremely dry weather preceding a drought.

  • Link to source page

    (no image provided)

    Regional climatologies

    Publication series
    A regional climatology is a summary of the typical weather and climate of a region, based on historical data observations made at climate stations located within the region.

  • Link to source page

    Chatham Islands

    The weather of the Chatham Islands is marked by rapid changes of conditions, and typically windy cloudy conditions.

  • Link to source page

    Nelson and Tasman

    Nelson City and Tasman District are located in the most north-westerly part of the South Island and generally are the first to be influenced by weather systems moving onto the island from the north.

  • Link to source page

    Wellington

    The climate and weather of the Wellington region is characterised by strong variations in space and time, strongly influenced by the presence of Cook Straight and the rugged local topography.

  • Link to source page

    Taranaki

    The climate of Taranaki is determined largely by its position in relation to the large scale weather patterns affecting New Zealand.

  • Link to source page

    Hawkes Bay

    The climate of Hawke’s Bay is influenced largely by the orography and the airstreams crossing New Zealand.

  • Link to source page

    Auckland

    Auckland experiences a subtropical climate. The region lies some 13° of latitude south of the Tropic of Capricorn, so tropical plants which are protected for the winter months will flower and fruit in the summer.

  • Link to source page

    (no image provided)

    Climate change poses risk of irreversible impacts: IPCC report

    News article
    03 November 2014
    Human influence on the climate system is clear and growing, with impacts observed on all continents.