Hazards

NIWA researchers study geological, weather and coastal hazards, including the impact of climate change on some of these.

  • In numbers: New Zealand’s wild summer weather

    Media release
    It has been a summer to remember, but not in a good way.
  • Hotspot Watch 16 February 2023

    Hotspot
    A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing significant soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.
  • Mā te haumaru ō nga puna wai ō Rākaihautū ka ora mo ake tonu: Increasing flood resilience across Aotearoa

  • Hotspot Watch 12 January 2023

    Hotspot
    A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing significant soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.
  • Fire-Haze-Banner

    Fire in the sky

    News article
    New research suggests large-scale wildfires may be changing the chemical makeup of our atmosphere. Jessica Rowley explains.
  • New technology gives sea safety hopes

    Media release
    Beachgoers could be safer thanks to a new technology with the potential to give real-time updates of rip currents.
  • Hotspot Watch 16 December 2022

    Hotspot
    A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing significant soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.
  • Making big waves in the Pacific

    Feature story
    Prior to 15 January, Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai was a little-known undersea South Pacific volcano with a long name. Within 24 hours, it  was a global phenomenon – the site of the largest atmospheric explosion in almost 150 years. Jessica Rowley looks at why a remote Tongan volcano took the world by storm.
  • Protecting people

    Feature story
    Mia Blyth talks to an environmental hazard specialist who feels a very personal connection to his work.
  • Bridging the forecasting gap

    Feature story
    Improvements in data and climate science mean forecasters are able to predict patterns much further ahead and in far greater detail. Melissa Bray looks at what this may mean for farmers.
  • Tonga eruption confirmed as largest ever recorded

    Media release
    A New Zealand-led team has completed the fullest investigation to date into January’s eruption of the underwater Tongan volcano.