Due to its position in the 'Roaring Forties', a belt of strong winds in the Southern Hemisphere which generally occur between the latitudes of 40 and 49 degrees, as well as its small size, New Zealand ...

Site-specific weather forecasts for many locations around New Zealand, including a hosted forecast video Monday-Friday. Site-specific weather forecasts for New Zealand’s national parks, including many ...

Since European settlement there have been many changes in land use in New Zealand, with large forested areas having been cleared for human habitation and agriculture. Prior to colonisation, 80% of New ...

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 ...

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). NIWA’s ...

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 ...

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 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. The AR, a huge plume of moisture ...

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) ...

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.