NIWA

Climate

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Hotspot Watch 26 November 2021

26 November 2021

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 18 November 2021

Hot spot

18 November 2021

Hotspot Watch 11 November 2021

Hot spot

11 November 2021

Hotspot Watch 4 November 2021

Hot spot

4 November 2021

Our work

Seabed 2030

NIWA is leading a New Zealand partnership to map the South and West Pacific Ocean's seabed as part of a worldwide initiative to map the entire globe’s seafloor.

Sea2Cloud – how marine aerosols influence the atmosphere and climate

Clouds over the ocean, and how they trap or emit radiation from the sun, are partly influenced by the biology, biogeochemistry and physics of the surface ocean below.

Forecasting weather systems

NIWA’s research into forecasting weather systems aims to increase the resilience of New Zealand communities to weather-related hazards.

Our Future Climate New Zealand

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.

Latest videos

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.

Tropical Cyclone Outlook: November 2021-April 2022

The NIWA and MetService assessment of named tropical cyclone (TC) activity indicates 9 to 12 named TCs could occur in the Southwest Pacific basin between November 2021 and April 2022. The seasonal outlook is for normal to slightly above normal activity in terms of overall named TCs in the region.

Tropical Cyclone Outlook: November 2020-April 2021

Tropical cyclone outlook Nov 2020 - Apr 2021

The NIWA and MetService assessment of named tropical cyclone (TC) activity indicates 8 to 10 named TCs could occur in the Southwest Pacific basin between November 2020 and April 2021. This seasonal outlook is for normal to below normal activity in terms of overall named cyclone systems in the region.

New Zealand 2019 climate summary

NIWA climate scientist Nava Fedaeff presents the NIWA annual climate summary for New Zealand 2019.

Climate Summary for February 2018

Two ex-tropical cyclones impact New Zealand

Summer 2017-18

New Zealand's hottest summer on record.

Seasonal climate outlook March - May 2018

With La Niña’s influence waning over the next three month period, New Zealand’s regional climate over March – May 2018 is expected to be driven by the warmer than average ocean waters that are present around the country.

Five more days from the official hottest summer on record

Media Release

23 February 2018

Despite a sub-tropical storm and two ex-tropical cyclones, this summer is about to become the hottest in history.

Auckland region climate change projections and impacts | Auckland Council

Auckland Council and Council Controlled Organisations commissioned NIWA to provide climate change projections, including high-resolution maps for the Auckland Region.

Seasonal climate outlook February - April 2018

Apart from waning La Niña conditions, New Zealand’s regional climate over the next three month period is expected to be dominated by the very warm ocean waters present around the country, in the Tasman Sea, and in the Southwest Pacific Ocean.

Climate Summary for January 2018

January 2018 was New Zealand’s hottest month on record (since 1909) using NIWA’s seven-station series. Dozens of locations observed their record or near-record high mean temperature for January.

2017 Annual Climate Summary

Chris Brandolino (Principal Scientist - Forecasting) presents the 2017 Annual Climate Summary. See the detailed Annual Climate Summary.

Climate Summary for December 2017

A very warm and dry month

Annual Climate Summary 2017

A year of weather extremes across New Zealand

2017 Annual Climate Summary

Summer Series 2017 - NIWA's Year of Weather

Feature story

21 December 2017

Four seasons with a little bit of everything. It started with the bummer summer… then came the fires, rain, flooding and a very weird November. But it’s all in a year of weather as NIWA wraps up the seasonal highlights.

The climate of Christmases past – Soggy Santa least likely in Wellington and Christchurch

Media Release

11 December 2017

If history is anything to go by, Wellington and Christchurch are the main centres most likely to experience a dry Christmas Day, while Auckland and Hamilton are the least likely. That’s according to a new climate study undertaken by NIWA meteorologist Ben Noll.

Spring 2017

Equal second-warmest spring on record for New Zealand

Climate Summary for November 2017

Hot in the south and dry countrywide to end spring

‘Weather detectives’ saving historical records

Media Release

1 December 2017

More than 50 “weather detectives” from 20 countries will be in Auckland next week to share their experiences saving snippets of meteorological history that will ultimately help scientists better understand the processes of climate variability and change.

NIWA's Hotspot Watch for 30 November 2017

Media Release

30 November 2017

A weekly update describing soil moisture across the country to help assess whether severely to extremely dry conditions are occurring or imminent. Regions experiencing these soil moisture deficits are deemed “hotspots”. Persistent hotspot regions have the potential to develop into drought.

The Stormy Seas project

Does climate change affect the position of the Subtropical Front around New Zealand? This has important consequences for New Zealand's climate and biological productivity.

Climate Summary for October 2017

A very dry and warm month for the South Island interior

Seasonal climate outlook November 2017 - January 2018

The tropical Pacific is still officially in a ENSO (El Niño Southern Oscillation) neutral state, but some indicators have leaned more towards La Niña conditions during the course of October 2017.

Extended warmth for South Island

Media Release

27 October 2017

A large area of high pressure will take up residence east of New Zealand for the next few days, bringing more unusual springtime warmth to parts of the South Island from tomorrow through to late next week, says NIWA forecaster Seth Carrier.

Southern spring sizzle sets records

Media Release

20 October 2017

An immense dome of high pressure stretched across the Tasman Sea onto the South Island yesterday, bringing the highest temperatures across New Zealand since April.