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.

Understanding how hazards impact people and the environment provides the foundation for informed decision making for a resilient Pacific
One of the major consequences of climate change is rising global sea levels.

NIWA is developing guidelines and advice to help coastal communities adapt to climate change.

Defining drought and identifying its causes and impacts on humans.
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.

The transfer rate of most gases between the atmosphere and ocean is controlled by processes just beneath the water surface.

This project demonstrates how to assess high value alternative land-use options by means of a quantitative analysis of the growing potential of selected niche crops and tree species.
NZ has a range of different types of coasts, and so very different coastal erosion and sediment systems.
Glass eels (about 5.5 to 7.0 cm) arrive in fresh water during spring, especially during September and October, although they may be present from July to December.
Heavy rainfall is one of the most frequent and widespread severe weather hazards to affect New Zealand. It is defined as rainfall greater than 100 mm in 24 hours.

The latest version (V3) of NIWA’s High Intensity Rainfall Design System (HIRDS) is a web-based system that lets engineers find out how much rain they should design for at any location in New Zealand. It will tell them the probability of a really big downpour, and how big that downpour might be.

Regional-scale climate projections assist local authorities to assess risks presented by climate change now and prepare their communities for the future impacts.

Projections of how climate change is likely to affect New Zealand.

Background

Landslides can be divided into four groups for the purposes of determining the probability of a landslide occurring at a site. The four groups are rainfall-induced landslides, earthquake-induced landslides, endogenetic landslides (no external trigger) and pre-existing landslides. Landslides may have a wide range of underlying causes but there are two dominant triggers of movement – rainfall and earthquakes. About 90% of all landslides are triggered by rainfall and different rainfall patterns produce different types of landslides. 

Understanding local weather and climate using Maori environmental knowledge

From left to right: Apanui Skipper, Te Hiringānuku Ngāmane, and Darren King. (Photo: Pat Ngamane)

Darren, Apanui, Bill (Wīremu) Tawhai, Mere Roberts, Weno Iti, and Liliana Clarke. (Photo: Leona Stirling)

Click for enlargement and names.

Darren King and Apanui Skipper have recorded and compiled traditional knowledge held by two North Island iwi.
Climate has always been important for Māori.

New Zealand has just experienced its warmest winter on record, according to official NIWA climate data.
There are many lines of evidence showing that NZ has warmed during the past century.
A decision framework has been developed that provides for a balanced and justifiable prioritisation of sustainable adaptations to climate change and which is flexible to change.
To prepare for changes in climate, our freshwater and oceans decision-makers need information on species vulnerability to climate change.
Climate data and common terms explaining the causes and effects of climate change.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is charged with assessing the most up to date scientific, technical and socio-economic research on climate change.
Developing probabilistic scenarios of expected future regional climate changes.
Climate Present and Past is a core-funded project under NIWA's National Climate Centre. It aims to explore historical climate data and track past changes in climate through a range of approaches.
The world’s oceans are acidifying as a result of the carbon dioxide (CO2) generated by humanity.

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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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