Earth Sciences New Zealand meteorologists are anticipating a significant El Niño influence on weather patterns across the country from winter onwards, potentially bringing reduced rainfall for some ...

The tables below show the probabilities (or percent chances) for each of three categories: above average, near average, and below average. In the absence of any forecast guidance there would be an ...

A new NIWA-led study has found that climate change increased the amount of total rainfall during Cyclone Gabrielle by 10%. This additional rain fell during the most intense parts of the storm, ...

A New Zealand-led team has completed the fullest investigation to date into January’s eruption of the underwater Tongan volcano. Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha'apai (HT-HH) emitted the biggest atmospheric ...

New research led by Earth Sciences New Zealand reveals that more than 750,000 New Zealanders live in locations exposed to flooding from one-in-100-year rainfall flooding events. And this number could ...

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 ...

The website Ian Wishart has based his opinions on is not New Zealand’s national climate database. Wishart has conflated the Historic Weather Events website with the New Zealand National Climate ...

Temperature 2025 was New Zealand’s 4th-warmest year on record, based on Earth Sciences New Zealand’s seven station series which begins in 1909. Annual temperatures were above average (0.51-1.20°C ...

NIWA scientists have seen substantial changes in the ocean to the east of New Zealand, with possible impacts for important fisheries. Since 2006, strong, full-depth ocean warming has occurred south of ...

Our assessment of tropical cyclone (TC) activity for the coming season indicates normal to below normal activity. [Tropical cyclones are categorised in strength from 1 to 5, with 5 being most intense.

RiskScape has been used to assess climate-related coastal flood risk in the Pacific. The tool provides critical information to allow six Pacific nations – Cook Islands, Republic of Marshall Islands, ...

Annual temperatures were above average (+0.51°C to +1.20°C above the annual average) across the majority of New Zealand. Pockets of well above average (>1.20°C from average) temperatures were observed ...