Hazards

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

  • Pacific Risk Tool for Resilience, Phase 2 (PARTneR-2)

    Research Project
    The three-year PARTneR–2 project aims to help countries in the Pacific become more resilient to the impacts of climate-related hazards.
  • Public asked to help build national flood photo database

    Media release
    NIWA is asking people in flood-affected areas to contribute photos to a national database to support understanding of flood hazard and flood risk.
  • Hotspot Watch 27 January 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.
  • Hotspot Watch 20 January 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.
  • River flow forecasting

    Research Project
    NIWA is developing a national river flow forecasting tool for New Zealand that aims to support and strengthen our planning for and response to extreme rainfall events.
  • Hotspot Watch 13 January 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.
  • New Zealand experiencing 5x more temperature extremes than expected

    Feature story
    Stories of tremendous forest fires, huge storm events, and suffocating heatwaves have dominated headlines over the past few years. We instinctively feel that our weather is getting wilder. Are we finally living through those climate change warnings we’ve heeded for decades?
  • Hotspot Watch 10 December 2021

    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.
  • Hotspot Watch 26 November 2021

    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.
  • 2021 - Kaikōura Canyon

    Voyage
    Kaikōura Canyon reveals its muddy secrets
  • Coastal flooding likely to be main driver for adaptation

    Media release
    New NIWA-led research shows increasing flood risk is going to be what leads people to make changes to adapt to sea-level rise.
  • Record warmth so far this winter

    Media release
    New Zealand has just experienced its warmest June and July since records began in 1909 and – with one month to go - is on track for its second successive warmest winter on record.