Climate change

Climate change effects are accelerating, driving the need for actions informed by sound climate knowledge.

Glacier Extinction Horizons
  • NIWA calculates 1:200 year flood for parts of Canterbury

    Media release
    Preliminary analysis by NIWA climate scientists has shown that the recent Canterbury rainfall was so extreme in some inland places that it could be expected to happen only once every 200 years.
  • Sea2Cloud – how marine aerosols influence the atmosphere and climate

    Research Project
    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.
  • Play the climate change game at Fieldays

    Media release
    Farmers visiting NIWA’s Fieldays stand at Mystery Creek next week have the opportunity to see into their future by playing a game that dices with climate change.
  • Field teams and forecasters cover monumental rainfall event

    Feature story
    The prodigious rainmaker that hit Canterbury earlier this month saw NIWA field teams out in the elements collecting flood data from bridges, cableways and jetboat gaugings.
  • Happy diamond anniversary for some laudable work

    Media release
    A Central Otago scientific research station with a globally revered reputation is marking its 60th anniversary.
  • Marine reserves join ocean acidification network

    Media release
    A joint NIWA and Department of Conservation (DOC) project is extending New Zealand’s ocean acidification monitoring network to include marine reserves.
  • Scientists watching lake on South Island glacier survey

    Media release
    Scientists undertaking the annual glacier snowline survey over the South Island later this month are keeping a watchful eye on a lake that has been forming and disappearing at the junction of the Tasman and Hochstetter glaciers.
  • Climate changes, impacts and implications for New Zealand

    Research Project
    The Climate Changes, Impacts & Implications project ran from 2012 to 2016 and aimed to update and improve projections of climate trends, variability and extremes across New Zealand out to 2100.
  • Ancient kauri trees reveal a turning point in Earth’s history 42,000 years ago

    Media release
    A new international study using ancient swamp kauri from Northland shows a temporary breakdown of Earth’s magnetic field 42,000 years ago sparked major climate shifts leading to global environmental change and mass extinctions.
  • NIWA heads to Antarctica for critical climate, ocean research

    Media release
    NIWA’s flagship research vessel Tangaroa leaves soon on a six-week voyage to Antarctica, making it one of the few full scientific expeditions to the continent since the global outbreak of COVID-19.
  • Our Future Climate New Zealand

    Service
    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.
  • Freshwater species show vulnerability to climate change

    Media release
    A new study has identified seven freshwater species native to Aotearoa-New Zealand that will likely be highly or very highly vulnerable to climate change.