Climate change

Climate change effects are accelerating, driving the need for actions informed by sound climate knowledge.

Climate change

NIWA is committed to providing the science needed to adapt to and mitigate climate change. By making informed choices now, we can reduce risks, maximise opportunities, foster climate resilience and work towards a carbon-neutral economy.

“The challenges of reducing our national greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to a changing climate are hugely important and affect all New Zealanders. The Climate Change Response (Zero Carbon) Amendment Bill provides the framework for responding to these challenges. NIWA’s role – providing research for evidence-based decision-making and science-based solutions to reduce emissions and adapt to our changing climate – is now more important than ever.”

Dr Andrew Tait, Chief Scientist, Climate, Atmosphere and Hazards

The latest climate change facts you need to know:

Latest news

A newly launched tool developed by NIWA and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) to predict dryness and drought will help farmers and growers be better prepared for challenging weather conditions.
NIWA has launched a $5 million per year package of new projects aiming to tackle some of New Zealand’s most pressing challenges, including responding to and preparing for extreme weather events.
New maps from NIWA and the Deep South National Science Challenge show areas across Aotearoa New Zealand that could be inundated by extreme coastal flooding.
NIWA’s annual end-of-summer snowline survey has revealed continued loss of snow and ice for New Zealand’s famous glaciers.

Our work

MethaneSAT is New Zealand’s first official government-funded satellite mission. The core mission of this unique satellite is to support reductions in methane emissions around the world.
This research project aims to establish connections between weather and river flow forecasting, inundation prediction, and the associated risks to people and assets, using the RiskScape platform.

Latest videos

Our Climate is Changing

Our climate is changing - we need to act now.

Mā te haumaru ō nga puna wai ō Rākaihautū ka ora mo ake tonu: Increasing flood resilience across Aotearoa

This five-year NIWA-led research programme is developing a system to map flood hazard consistently across the whole country. It will reveal how our flood risk might change over the next 100 years because of changes to rainfall and sea level from climate change, as well as due to land-use changes. Find out more.

Glacier melt: A Time Capsule

Since 2016 enough ice has melted from the South Island’s Brewster Glacier to meet the drinking water needs of all New Zealanders for three years.

Our Future Climate New Zealand is an interactive website that lets you to look at projections for a number of climate variables for New Zealand between now and 2100.
A new study has identified seven freshwater species native to Aotearoa-New Zealand that will likely be highly or very highly vulnerable to climate change.
NIWA is using serious games to look at problems holistically, support understanding and give a framework for climate change adaptation decision-making.
NIWA works with businesses, organisations, and central and local government to help them understand their climate risks, plan for adaptation, and meet the regulatory requirements for the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).
If we can understand how the Earth’s climate has changed in the past, we can use that information to understand how it might change in the future.
Understanding what is important to everyone helps us make choices about how to adapt to our changing climate in ways that suit the needs of our communities.
Some of the most striking images of lockdown around the world have been the blue skies of cities ordinarily choking in smog. From New Delhi to Los Angeles, Beijing to Paris, the changes were so remarkable they were visible from space.
Among the multitude of New Zealand climate statistics there is one record that continues to be broken month after month.
Glacier melt: A Time Capsule

Since 2016 enough ice has melted from the South Island’s Brewster Glacier to meet the drinking water needs of all New Zealanders for three years.

Scientists analysing end-of-summer snowline survey photos have estimated that 13 million cubic meters of ice have been lost from just one glacier from 2016 to 2019.
Zone 7: Chatham Islands (Wharekauri – Rēkohu) and Pitt Island (Rangiauria –Rangiaotea) at longitude 183–184˚E.
Zone 6: Western and southern South Island (Te Wai Pounamu) – covers the West Coast, Fiordland, Southland and Stewart Island (Te Punga o Te Waka ā Māui) and includes the Southern Alps and southern lakes. Includes Canterbury and Otago.
Zone 5: Eastern South Island (Te Wai Pounamu) from Kaikōura to Owaka (South Otago) and includes Central Otago and the MacKenzie Basin including Lakes Tekapo to Ōhau to the east of the Southern Alps. Includes the West Coast, inland Otago and Southland.
Zone 4: Northern South Island (Te Wai Pounamu) – covers Marlborough (from Kaikōura north), Nelson (Whakatū) and around to Punakaiki on the West Coast. Includes Tasman, Nelson, Marlborough and Buller District.

Zone 3: Regional snapshot of projected climate changes and hazards

Eastern lower North Island (Te Ika ā Māui) extends from Hicks Bay (Wharekahika) to Palliser Bay (Te Waha o te Ika ā Māui) and back to the Ruahine and Kaweka ranges. Includes Gisborne, Hawke’s Bay and the Wairarapa catchment of Wellington.

Hazard

RCP 4.5

RCP8.5

Zone 2: Western lower North Island (Te Ika ā Māui) – covers Taranaki to Wellington (Te Whanga-nui-a-Tara) and includes National Park and southern Lake Taupō. Includes the regions of Taranaki, Manawatū–Whanganui (Horizons) and Wellington.
Zone 1: Upper North Island (Te Ika ā Māui) – extends to Mōkau on the west coast and Lottin Point (Wakatiri) in eastern Bay of Plenty, and the northern part of Lake Taupō.
The NCCRA assessment was commissioned by the Ministry for the Environment and has identified the most significant risks we face from climate change. It will feed into the Government’s national adaptation plan.
This is one of the most extreme drought events for Auckland in modern times and similar to one experienced in 1993/94.
Analysis of drought conditions across New Zealand this year shows it is one of the most severe on record for some regions.
A little can mean a lot – especially when it comes to the relationship between sea level rise and coastal flooding.
Young New Zealanders can now access the most up-to-date educational material about the science of climate change and its impacts on Aotearoa thanks to NIWA’s new web section: 'Climate change information for climate solvers'
NIWA climate scientists are asking for volunteers to help give its historic weather project a quick, sharp boost.
Scientists have recorded more snow on the South Island glaciers this year, but they warn it is simply a temporary break rather than any good news on the climate change front.
Scientists know so little about how storms affect the delicate balance of lake ecosystems that we may be unable to protect them from the effects of climate change, says a NIWA scientist.

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All staff working on this subject

Hydro-ecological Modeller
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Marine Ecologist - Quantitative Modeller
Atmospheric Modeller
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Hazard and Risk Analyst
Principal Scientist - Marine Ecology
Principal Scientist - Climate
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Marine Biogeochemistry Technician
Freshwater Fish Ecologist
Principal Scientist-Marine Biogeochemistry
Principal Scientist - Climate and Environmental Applications
Emeritus Researcher – Atmospheric Radiation
Principal Scientist - Carbon Chemistry and Modelling
Principal Scientist - Atmosphere and Climate
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NWP/CFD Modeller and Analyst
Surface Water - Groundwater Modeller
Coastal and Estuarine Physical Processes Scientist
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Marine Physics Modeller
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Climate Scientist
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Scientist
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