The atmosphere is comprised of layers based on temperature. These layers are the troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere and thermosphere. A further region at about 500 km above the Earth's surface is ...

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 ...

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 ...

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, ...

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 ...

Microbes - such as those living in wetlands, landfills or the digestive tracts of livestock – are behind unprecedented spikes in methane emissions, according to new research from the University of ...

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.

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 ...

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 ...

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) ...

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 ...

NIWA is using machine learning to forecast flood inundation in a fraction of the time required to run physical models. NIWA Climate, Atmosphere & Hazards platform manager Nava Fedaeff leads the ...