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.

Drought forecasting dashboard

The drought forecasting tool uses innovative climate modelling, the latest in machine learning and other data-driven techniques to predict rainfall 35 days ahead. Helping farmers and growers better prepare for periods of dryness and drought.

Climate and weather

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    Temperatures soar into record books 26 November 2013

    Media release
    26 November 2013
    A spell of settled sunny weather around the country has been breaking temperature records, NIWA figures show.

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    Court of Appeal awards costs to NIWA

    News article
    13 November 2013
    The Court of Appeal has awarded costs to NIWA following a decision by the New Zealand Climate Education Trust to withdraw its appeal against a High Court ruling which confirmed the integrity of NIWA's climate science.

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    NIWA’s climate science vindicated in Court of Appeal

    News article
    16 October 2013

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    Southwest Pacific Tropical Cyclone Outlook: Near average tropical cyclone numbers for the region is likely, with increased activity in the late season

    News article
    15 October 2013

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    IPCC says human influence on climate system clear

    News article
    27 September 2013
    This is one of the key conclusions announced today by Working Group 1 of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in the summary of its contribution to the IPCC's Fifth Assessment. 
    Climate change

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    Storm information update

    News article
    21 June 2013

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    Snow storm provides crucial information for scientists

    News article
    20 June 2013

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    Useful links and resources

    Useful drought links and information from NIWA and MPI

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    What is a mass spectrometer?

    Education Resource
    Much of NIWA's science uses an instrument known as a mass spectrometer. But what is a mass spectrometer, and how to they work?
    Climate change

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    Understanding our climate

    Many of our services are of significant value to the primary sector. They include climate data and statistics, derived information, land use guidance, outlooks,  tools and Advice and information on adapting to regional climate.

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    Superior data acquisition, management and delivery

    NIWA delivers high quality data which we can tailor to you and your farm's needs. We build custom instruments, manage data from them and deliver a range of products via web and mobile tools to help you make the best business decisions.

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    Improving access to NIWA's climate data - Summer of eResearch 2012

    Summer of eResearch 2012 has funded a project to prototype an open, readily-accessible web interface for NIWA's National Climate Database, which collects and stores all of the information collected by NIWA's network of climate sensors and stations.