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Read about the important science being undertaken at NIWA, and how it affects New Zealanders. 

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Hotspot Watch 18 March 2022

Hot spot
18 March 2022
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 11 March 2022

Hot spot
11 March 2022
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.

Mean heat: Marine heatwaves to get longer and hotter by 2100

Media Release
7 March 2022
New research from the Deep South Challenge: Changing with our Climate and NIWA shows that New Zealand could experience very long and “very severe” marine heatwaves by the end of the century.

Hotspot Watch 4 March 2022

Hot spot
4 March 2022
A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent.

Hotspot Watch 25 February 2022

Hot spot
25 February 2022
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.

Tropical seafloor secrets revealed

Media Release
25 February 2022
NIWA scientists and Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) have used satellite technology to chart the Cook Islands’ seafloor in never-before-seen detail. The work was done as part of Seabed 2030 - a collaborative project to produce a definitive map of the world ocean floor by 2030.

Cutting-edge AI sea craft helping scientists count fish

Media Release
21 February 2022
A robot sea craft is the latest tool NIWA scientists are using to help them count fish.

Hotspot Watch 17 February 2022

Hot spot
17 February 2022
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.

Public asked to help build national flood photo database

Media Release
15 February 2022
NIWA is asking people in flood-affected areas to contribute photos to a national database to support understanding of flood hazard and flood risk.

“Very rare find” of ghost shark hatchling

Media Release
15 February 2022
NIWA scientists have made the rare discovery of a days-old ghost shark during a recent survey off the east coast of the South Island.

Hotspot Watch 10 February 2022

Hot spot
10 February 2022
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.

The positives of Wellington’s wet weather: marine pest control

Media Release
8 February 2022
The tempestuous wet weather may have dampened Wellingtonians' spirits at the beginning of summer, but it had at least one positive effect - killing some unwanted species in the harbour.

Hotspot Watch 4 February 2022

Hot spot
4 February 2022
A weekly update describing soil moisture patterns across the country to show where dry to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent.

Hotspot Watch 27 January 2022

Hot spot
27 January 2022
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

Hot spot
20 January 2022
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 13 January 2022

Hot spot
13 January 2022
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 6 January 2022

Hot spot
6 January 2022
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
4 January 2022
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?

Will it be a fintastic fishing year?

Feature story
30 December 2021
A marine heatwave is happening all around New Zealand. Warmer waters are more pleasant for swimming in and can create wilder weather. But what do they mean for fishing? Let’s dive into the science behind getting a good catch.

Studying a fragile and alien icy world

Feature story
23 December 2021
NIWA scientists are doing what no others have done before. In a mysterious world just below the Antarctic ice, a delicate web of ice crystals forms a habitat that’s unique and largely unknown. Until now…

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