NIWA - Latest News [Page 5]
April Climate Summary - Dry & Warm For Many
Wednesday, 3 May 2023, 8:33 pm | NIWA
Highlights: - April 2023 was a dry and warm month for much of Aotearoa New Zealand, with the lower and western South Island being particularly sunny - There were more northeasterly winds than normal over the country - It was a relatively dry month ... More >>
Counting Carbon - NZ Contributes To Global C02 Stocktake
Friday, 28 April 2023, 5:19 am | NIWA
New Zealand researchers have contributed to the first ever stocktake of global greenhouse gas emissions. The project involved over 60 researchers from more than 100 countries, including scientists from NIWA. Measurements from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 ... More >>
Counting Carbon - NZ Contributes To Global C02 Stocktake
Thursday, 27 April 2023, 9:49 am | NIWA
New Zealand researchers have contributed to the first ever stocktake of global greenhouse gas emissions. The project involved over 60 researchers from more than 100 countries, including scientists from NIWA. Measurements from NASA’s Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 ... More >>
NIWA Discovers Over Two Dozen New Marine Species In Wellington Inlet
Friday, 21 April 2023, 11:33 am | NIWA
Researchers have discovered 26 species of roundworms that are completely new to science. The roundworms, or nematodes, were sampled between 2016 - 2021 from Pāuatahanui Inlet in Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour in the Wellington region. Other discoveries ... More >>
NZ "Ballerina Sponge" In Top 10 New Species List
Tuesday, 11 April 2023, 10:25 am | NIWA
A fossilised sponge from New Zealand has been named as one of the top 10 new marine species of 2022. Latrunculia (Latrunculia) tutu, more affectionately known as the Ballerina sponge, has a microskeleton that resembles the skirt of a ballerina. Only ... More >>
March Climate Summary
Tuesday, 4 April 2023, 12:16 pm | NIWA
Highlights: - Dry and cool for upper North Island, wet for South Island - Lower than normal mean sea level pressure meant numerous low pressure systems tracking in from the Tasman Sea - ENSO neutral conditions developed - A late month unseasonable ... More >>
Further Ice Loss For NZ’s Glaciers
Saturday, 1 April 2023, 8:45 pm | NIWA
NIWA’s annual end-of-summer snowline survey has revealed continued loss of snow and ice for New Zealand’s famous glaciers. The 2023 survey was the 46th undertaken in a collaboration between NIWA, Victoria University of Wellington, and Department ... More >>
On The Search For Invaders
Friday, 24 March 2023, 9:51 am | NIWA
Deep beneath Waitomo’s rolling hills lies a maze of caves and underground rivers. Here, NIWA researchers braved the dark waters to measure the current and hunt for fishy invaders under the twinkle of the cave’s magical glowworms. The Waitomo caves ... More >>
NZ's Wild Weather: Summer And February Climate Summaries
Friday, 3 March 2023, 3:30 pm | NIWA
It has been a summer to remember, but not in a good way. February 2023 will go down as the month that Aotearoa New Zealand experienced one of its worst weather disasters. On 13-14 February, Cyclone Gabrielle caused historic extreme rainfall and river flooding, ... More >>
Record Low Sea Ice Levels Mixed Bag For Antarctic Voyage
Thursday, 23 February 2023, 10:55 am | NIWA
Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) have returned from a six-week voyage to Antarctica. Their mission aboard the research vessel Tangaroa was to better understand the ecosystem and ocean physics in the Ross ... More >>
Seasonal Climate Outlook: Feb - April
Friday, 3 February 2023, 9:41 am | NIWA
The Seasonal Climate Outlook for February - April is attached Main takeaways: - Heavy rainfall and possible flooding for the North Island and northern South Island likely in the coming weeks and months. Dry conditions in the lower South Island may ... More >>
Auckland Suffers Wettest Month In History
Thursday, 2 February 2023, 4:07 pm | NIWA
January was Auckland’s wettest month since records began, according to meteorologists. The Central Auckland Rainfall series recorded a total of 539 mm of rain at Albert Park, smashing the previous monthly record of 420 mm from February 1869. Honorary ... More >>
Half Of NZ’s Rivers Blocked For Migratory Fish
Wednesday, 25 January 2023, 10:23 am | NIWA
Nearly half of New Zealand’s river network is partially or fully inaccessible to migratory fish, a new study shows. NIWA has conducted the first nationwide assessment of river fragmentation, looking for structures that can act as barriers to fish. ... More >>
New Discoveries From New Zealand’s Deepest Waters
Friday, 20 January 2023, 11:39 am | NIWA
A joint Chinese - New Zealand research expedition to the Kermadec Trench at Ranghitāhua (Kermadec Islands region) has revealed fascinating new insights into life in the deepest part of New Zealand waters. NIWA and Auckland Museum scientists and their ... More >>
2022: NZ's Warmest Year On Record, Again
Wednesday, 11 January 2023, 10:32 am | NIWA
It's official - last year was once again Aotearoa's warmest on record, knocking 2021 off the top spot. It was also the 8th most unusually wet year on record. Please find the 2022 Annual Climate Summary attached, along with December's summary. Highlights: ... More >>
New Technology Gives Sea Safety Hopes
Tuesday, 27 December 2022, 9:37 pm | NIWA
New technology gives sea safety hopes Beachgoers could be safer thanks to a new technology with the potential to give real-time updates of rip currents. Rip currents are narrow, fast-moving segments of water that travel away from the shore. They can ... More >>
The Weather With You - Christmas Edition
Thursday, 22 December 2022, 1:10 pm | NIWA
Thunderstorms, sunshine, showers and warm temperatures are all on the Christmas Day weather menu, according to NIWA’s forecasters. The forecasting team has compiled outlooks for several different regions and holiday hotspots for Christmas Eve through ... More >>
Marine Heatwave Developing
Thursday, 1 December 2022, 1:25 pm | NIWA
Coastal waters around Aotearoa New Zealand became unusually warm last month, say NIWA. November 2022 sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have been between 1.1C to 1.8C warmer than average, depending on the region. The north and west of both islands ... More >>
New Game To Help Kiwis Adapt To Sea Level Rise
Friday, 25 November 2022, 10:06 am | NIWA
A new online game is being used to help New Zealanders think about how they might adapt to rising sea levels. My Coastal Futures takes players on a journey to make decisions about a coastal property as sea levels rise over 100 years. By applying ... More >>
Discovery Of Over A Dozen New Sponge Species
Thursday, 10 November 2022, 10:58 am | NIWA
A study of New Zealand and Antarctic marine sponges has revealed 15 species that are new to science. In the latest NIWA Biodiversity Memoir, researchers examined and registered over 250 sponge specimens in the family Latrunculiidae, discovering ... More >>