NIWA meteorologists say last week’s atmospheric river (AR), which was responsible for widespread devastation in both the North and South Islands, was a record-breaker.
NIWA meteorologists say people living in the lower North Island and eastern South Island are likely to get the best views of the Matariki star cluster during the upcoming weekend.
Estuaries are coastal waterbodies where freshwater mixes with seawater. Many estuaries in Aotearoa New Zealand have been impacted by pollutants and contaminants entering via freshwater.
The tiny ear bone of a fish holds a wealth of information. Gather enough and you get a snapshot of what’s happening beneath the waves. Stuart Mackay explains.
Climate change means more intense storm systems are on their way. Science can’t stop it raining, but it can help communities prepare for the worst and plan for the future.
New findings from the record-breaking Tongan volcanic eruption are “surprising and unexpected”, say scientists from New Zealand’s National Institute for Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA).
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. This will be the final update of the Hotspot Watch for this season. Weekly Hotspot Watch updates will resume in the spring.
New Zealand has just over 50 native freshwater fish species. Of these, 85 % are endemic and 75 % are deemed to be at risk of decline or are threatened.