ENSO-neutral is currently in place in the tropical Pacific, but there are good indications that El Niño will form later this year, and it may potentially be a strong El Niño. There is about an 85% ...

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 ...

Disclaimer: The forecasts offered in this page draw upon modified Copernicus Climate Change Service Information [2022] (C3S, https://climate.Copernicus.eu). There is inherent uncertainty in ...

El Niño Southern Oscillation: what is it? El Niño and La Niña are opposite phases of a naturally occurring global climate cycle known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. ENSO ...

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 ...

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 ...

A NIWA-led study has found New Zealand’s native forests are absorbing more carbon dioxide (CO 2) than previously thought. Study leader, NIWA atmospheric scientist Dr Beata Bukosa, says the findings ...

Long-term protection of Otago’s coastal habitats took a step closer to reality after more than 100 marine Significant Ecological Areas (SEA) were identified as part of a research project led by NIWA.

NIWA is pleased with the announcement today by the Science, Innovation and Technology Minister of the Government’s response to a recent review of New Zealand’s weather forecasting system. The ...

The newly described Australasian Narrow-nosed Spookfish, Harriotta avia. The Australasian Narrow-nosed Spookfish was described by NIWA Fisheries Scientist Dr Brit Finucci. It was previously thought to ...

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, ...

Temperature 2024 was New Zealand’s 10th-warmest year on record, based on NIWA’s seven station series which begins in 1909. Annual temperatures were above average (0.51-1.20°C above the annual average) ...