Topics tagged with 'Extreme weather'
'Sam the Trap Man' on why he's running for council
Today 12:30pm
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | From the bush to Gisborne’s council chambers is what “Sam the Trap Man” hopes to achieve this October.
Death toll from northern Pakistan monsoon floods rises to almost 400
Today 12:30pm
Torrential rains across the country's north have caused flooding and landslides that have swept away entire villages.
Spain battles one of its most destructive fire seasons even as its heat wave eases
Today 12:30pm
Spain tackled several major wildfires on Tuesday in one of the country’s most destructive fire seasons in recent decades, despite temperatures dropping across the Iberian Peninsula.
Cyclone Gabrielle’s intense rainfall made landslides inevitable
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Cyclone Gabrielle was one of the most extreme landslide-triggering events ever recorded globally.
Sydney records most rain since weather station opened in 1858
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Sydney's wettest August in 27 years has tipped the city's recent climate into uncharted territory.
There’s no such thing as a ‘coolcation’ — you’ll be sweating buckets on your Arctic getaway
Wed 20 Aug 2025
There used to be places to go to escape the heat on our summer vacations but the Arctic’s icy grip is loosening as the planet warms, and these cool, far-flung destinations are becoming increasingly vulnerable to heat waves.
Adaptation under the spotlight at climate conference
Tue 19 Aug 2025
SPONSORED CONTENT: Our country has a long, indented coastline, highly mobile soils and is increasingly subject to devastating weather events. Most buildings and infrastructure are located in flood plains and/or near the coast.
Pakistan rescuers recover bodies after monsoon rains kill at least 340
Tue 19 Aug 2025
Rescuers were struggling to retrieve bodies from debris after flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains across northern Pakistan killed at least 340 people in the past 48 hours.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
Mon 18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
2024 saw a record-breaking number of dangerously hot and humid days
Mon 18 Aug 2025
As the planet heats up, the atmosphere is holding more moisture – and this is resulting in more days with weather conditions close to the limits of survivability.
As Canada wildfires choke US with smoke, Republicans demand action. But not on climate change
Mon 18 Aug 2025
The sternly worded statements and letters are filled with indignation and outrage: Republican U.S. lawmakers say Canada has done too little to contain wildfires and smoke that have fouled the air in several states this summer.
Smoke from boreal wildfires could cool the Arctic
Mon 18 Aug 2025
But the damage such blazes cause outweighs their benefits
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
Fri 15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
Forestry the source of all ETS risk, says top economist
Fri 15 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Forestry is the source of all of the risk in New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme and it's inevitable that the scheme has to be reformed, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment chief economist Geoff Simmons.
Media round-up
Fri 15 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Australia could be about to leapfrog New Zealand on climate targets; 'strangled' rivers are fighting back; and 10 rangatahi will join Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation at the United Nations' major climate conference in Brazil.
Wildfires fanned by heatwave and strong winds rage across Europe
Fri 15 Aug 2025
Wildfires caused by arsonists or thunderstorms and fanned by a heatwave and strong winds wreaked destruction across southern Europe on Wednesday, burning homes and forcing thousands of residents and tourists to flee.
Climate change made Nordic heat wave 2 degrees warmer
Fri 15 Aug 2025
The chances of reaching dangerous temperatures are only growing as the planet keeps warming up because of climate change, scientists warn.
Climate crisis risks to Aus economy and environment ‘intense and scary’, unreleased govt report
14 Aug 2025
Sources say delayed risk assessment includes modelling of effects of climate crisis in ways that have been little discussed in political debate so far.
Alaskan glacier ice dam releases floodwater toward downstream homes
14 Aug 2025
A huge basin of rainwater and snowmelt dammed by Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier has started to release, and officials on Tuesday urged residents in some parts of Juneau to evacuate ahead of what could be a record surge of floodwater downstream.
Extreme rainfall from future cyclones could rise by up to 35% in NZ
12 Aug 2025
Rainfall from tropical cyclones will significantly increase under global warming, according to the latest modelling.
July slightly cooler than the past 2 years but extreme weather impacts continue
12 Aug 2025
The world experienced its third-warmest July on record this year, the European Union agency that tracks global warming said Thursday, with temperatures easing slightly for the month as compared with the record high two years ago.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
Govt's hazards briefing hypocritical – Greenpeace
11 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s new briefing document on building resilience to hazards – including climate change – is “deeply ironic” and “deplorable”, according to Greenpeace.
Tens of thousands evacuated as torrential rains drench China
11 Aug 2025
Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated as heavy rains batter southern China, flooding homes and triggering landslides.
Proposed hazards policy ‘bare bones’ – Upton
8 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Simon Upton has backed the government’s proposed National Policy Statement for Natural Hazards, but warns it is only a start to what’s needed to manage escalating climate and disaster risks.
Media round-up
8 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Former minister of forestry Stuart Nash condemns "lock and leave" carbon farming; Fonterra's convenient omission about its switch from coal; and KiwiRail’s bold electrification plans.
Insurers call for stronger direction on reducing natural hazard risk
8 Aug 2025
Media release | The Insurance Council of New Zealand | Te Kāhui Inihui o Aotearoa (ICNZ) is urging the Government to provide stronger national direction to better manage natural hazards risks like flooding and landslips and avoid developments in high-risk areas.
France wildfire is 'catastrophe on an unprecedented scale', says PM
8 Aug 2025
French Prime Minister François Bayrou says a huge, deadly wildfire sweeping through the south of France is a "catastrophe on an unprecedented scale".
Tairāwhiti group warns forestry rollback will fuel future disasters
7 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A sustainable land-use advocacy group has slammed government proposals they say will gut forestry protections and roll back hard-fought gains made in the wake of Cyclone Hale and Gabrielle.
Fourth warmest July on record
7 Aug 2025
Media release | New Zealand has recorded its 4th-warmest July since records began in 1909, according to the Earth Sciences New Zealand, formerly NIWA, latest Monthly Climate Summary.
Insurers need to get ready for the next climate-fuelled disaster: FMA
6 Aug 2025
Insurers need to do more to improve their claims processes and services as climate-driven disasters increase in frequency and severity, according to the Financial Markets Authority.
Nordic countries hit by ‘truly unprecedented’ heatwave
5 Aug 2025
Scientists have recorded the longest streak of temperatures higher than 30C in the region in records going back to 1961.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
Warmer than usual weather ahead, wetter in north and east, as La Niña signals strengthen
1 Aug 2025
Media release – Earth Sciences New Zealand | Seasonal Outlook Climate August to October 2025 suggests warm, damp weather, with La Niña’s possible return.
Plant trees in urban areas to tackle deadly heatwaves, say experts
1 Aug 2025
Tree planting in city centres needs to "go harder and go faster" in order to help keep them cool ahead of future deadly heatwaves, an expert has said.
2025 on track to be second or third warmest year on record
31 Jul 2025
As it passes its midway point, 2025 is on track to be the second or third warmest year on record. However, it is very unlikely to beat 2024 as the hottest year.
At least 30 killed and several missing as heavy rains and floods lash northern China
30 Jul 2025
Thousands of people were evacuated as the region, including the capital Beijing, braced for more rainfall overnight.
A third of ‘slum residents’ in global south are exposed to disastrous flood risks
30 Jul 2025
One in three people in informal settlements in the global south live in floodplains and are at risk of a “disastrous flood”.
As US climate data-gathering is gutted, Australian forecasting is now at real risk
30 Jul 2025
As damage from climate change intensifies, political change overseas is threatening Australia’s ability to track what’s happening now, and predict what will happen next.
Climateflation could push up UK food prices by more than a third by 2050, report says
29 Jul 2025
Increasingly extreme weather threatens production and supply chains in Britain and elsewhere.
Wildfires rage in Greece and Turkey as extreme heat persists
29 Jul 2025
Greece continued to battle major wildfires across the country amid a severe heatwave, but firefighters have brought many outbreaks under control.
Does NZ need a national incentive scheme for wetlands?
25 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | An expert is calling for a national incentive programme to restore New Zealand’s wetlands and wants to stop schemes to drain these vital carbon-sequestering ecosystems.
Media round-up
25 Jul 2025
In our round-up of the climate coverage in local media: Dairy conversions surge; Gore is hit with a drinking water crisis; meanwhile farming lobby groups Groundswell and Federated Farmers are up in arms about a plan to classify environmental impacts in the agriculture and forestry sector.
Extreme weather events are the new frontline of online climate denial – report
24 Jul 2025
Climate science deniers are flooding social media with false claims during extreme weather events, drowning out reliable information and putting lives at risk.
Heatwave causes water shortages in Iran as temps top 50C
23 Jul 2025
Reservoirs of the dams supplying water to Tehran are currently at their lowest level in a century.
Climate catastrophes are creating a ‘new market reality’ for insurance carriers
23 Jul 2025
Raging wildfires and severe storms contributed to record-high global insurance losses — totalling an estimated US$84 billion — for the first six months of the year.
UN court's decision could reshape approach to climate commitments
22 Jul 2025
The International Court of Justice will this week deliver its advisory opinion on what obligations countries have to address the impacts of climate change. It will be a vital step toward climate justice and equity, according to one local expert.
Only three years left – new study warns the world is running out of time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change
22 Jul 2025
We are living in a world that is warming at the fastest rate since records began. Yet, governments have been slow to act.
At least 17 dead in South Korea floods and landslides
22 Jul 2025
At least 17 people have died in floods and landslides caused by days of torrential rain in South Korea, the country's disaster management office has said.
16 times extreme weather drove higher food prices since 2022
22 Jul 2025
UK potatoes, South Korean cabbage and west African cocoa are just some of the foods that became markedly more expensive after extreme weather events in recent years, according to new research.
What happens to net zero if the trees don’t survive?
Wed 20 Aug 2025
When climate change undermines the climate plan.
The US Department of Agriculture bans support for renewables, a lifeline for farmers
Today 12:30pm
The agency said it’s concerned that farmland is being consumed by wind and solar facilities – which occupy a tiny fraction of the country’s productive acres.
NZ Post drops science-based climate target
8 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | NZ Post has dropped its science-based emissions reduction target of 42% by 2030 with no plans to replace it.
Why plane turbulence is becoming more frequent - and more severe
6 Aug 2025
As climate change shifts atmospheric conditions, experts warn that air travel could become bumpier: temperature changes and shifting wind patterns in the upper atmosphere are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of severe turbulence.
Certainty crucial to emissions cuts – Watts
Wed 20 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Change Minister Simon Watts says that policy certainty is the Government’s primary lever for unlocking private capital and meeting climate targets, telling a carbon forestry conference that ETS settings are 'locked' through 2030.
Media round-up
Fri 15 Aug 2025
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Australia could be about to leapfrog New Zealand on climate targets; 'strangled' rivers are fighting back; and 10 rangatahi will join Aotearoa New Zealand’s delegation at the United Nations' major climate conference in Brazil.
Govt opts for status quo for ETS auctions
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has chosen not to increase auction volumes in the Emissions Trading Scheme, a decision applauded by carbon market insiders and climate campaigners alike, despite it contradicting the Climate Change Commission’s advice.
‘A climate of unparalleled malevolence’: are we on our way to the sixth major mass extinction?
Today 12:30pm
Churning quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at the rate we are going could lead the planet to another Great Dying.
Forestry the source of all ETS risk, says top economist
Fri 15 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Forestry is the source of all of the risk in New Zealand's Emissions Trading Scheme and it's inevitable that the scheme has to be reformed, according to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment chief economist Geoff Simmons.
Activists facing intimidation tactics at Bathurst mine
Tue 19 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Climate Liberation Aotearoa activists suspended 80m high in a coal bucket at a the Stockton mine on the West Coast say coal mining company Bathurst Resources is using ‘hostile’ tactics to try and remove them.
Is extending Huntly power station to 2035 in consumers’ best interest?
22 Jul 2025
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: Genesis Energy is proposing a cartel to keep high-emitting Huntly Power Station in business to 2035. If extending Huntly has economic benefits, is a cartel necessary?
What does 'drier' really mean in 'green' homes?
1 Aug 2025
Media release - Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland | Researchers say green-rating systems could improve clarity and effectiveness by explicitly defining ‘drier’ and using two measures of humidity.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
Mon 18 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | An energy lobby group has welcomed a last-minute amendment to the RMA that puts fossil fuels on the same footing as renewables, however a sustainable energy expert says the move “beggars belief.”
Dry winter pushed up Spark’s emissions
Today 12:30pm
By Pattrick Smellie | Increased use of coal and natural gas to generate electricity in the last year caused a spike in scope 1 and 2 emissions reported by telecommunications operator Spark NZ.
Key orange roughy population on verge of collapse, govt considers closure
9 Jul 2025
Media release - Deep Sea Conservation Coalition | New data reveals that New Zealand’s main orange roughy fishery, accounting for half of the country’s total catch, is on the brink of collapse, with one model showing it may have reached that point already, and the government’s considering closing it.
Latest trawl bycatch numbers 'a grim wake-up call'
24 Jun 2025
Media release – Greenpeace | The latest fisheries bycatch data paints a grim picture, with trawlers hauling up thousands of kilograms of coral and killing hundreds of fur seals and seabirds over a 12 month period.
Cyclone Gabrielle’s intense rainfall made landslides inevitable
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Cyclone Gabrielle was one of the most extreme landslide-triggering events ever recorded globally.
Shane Jones on climate change – it’s real, but…
Fri 15 Aug 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | New Zealand First deputy leader Shane Jones believes climate change is real, but is uninterested in what is causing it and primarily focused on adapting to it.
A modest geothermal strategy
31 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | The Government has unveiled a far more modest geothermal energy strategy than its primary backer, Resources Minister Shane Jones, had sought.
Governments in Global South get dedicated support to tap into carbon markets
Today 12:30pm
Media release – VCMI | A new toolkit will help emerging markets and developing economies decide how best to generate and sell carbon credits to access climate finance, accelerate innovation and help close the $1.3 trillion climate finance gap.
Will reflective roofs help beat the heat?
Fri 15 Aug 2025
Media release - University of Auckland | About 500 roofs across four continents have been painted with a reflective coating, as part of research into tackling the health impacts of climate change.
How the meat industry uses environmental groups to make beef seem climate-friendly
11 Aug 2025
The meat industry may have enlisted environmental groups to persuade people to “feel better” about eating beef, despite the sector’s ballooning emissions of climate-heating pollution.
Watts talks big on energy reform, but barriers persist
29 May 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Energy and Climate Change minister Simon Watts says the government is doubling down on efforts to boost renewable energy generation, streamline regulation, and drive private sector investment as New Zealand faces mounting energy security and affordability challenges.
Hiringa eyes green methanol plant near Whanganui
29 Jul 2025
By Pattrick Smellie | Green hydrogen pioneer Hiringa Energy is deep in planning to develop an “eight-to-nine figure” methanol plant near Whanganui, using a combination of biomass and hydrogen produced using renewable energy.
Why insurers worry the world could soon become uninsurable
11 Aug 2025
Top insurers fear the climate crisis could soon outpace industry solutions, effectively threatening to make entire regions around the world uninsurable.
Will NZ walk away from the Paris Agreement?
20 Dec 2024
By Geoff Bertram | COMMENT: Unless the government can find very cheap offshore mitigation, the temptation to walk away from its Paris Agreement obligations may well be too strong to resist for a coalition government focused on fiscal austerity.
Forestry sector could take legal action over ETS changes
14 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The forestry sector is threatening legal action against the Government over changes to legislation intended to limit whole farm-to-forest conversions in the Emissions Trading Scheme.
Fund for low emissions transport winds up
31 Jul 2025
New Zealand’s Low Emission Transport Fund has officially wrapped up, ending a nine-year programme that put hundreds of millions of dollars towards accelerating the country’s shift to cleaner transport.
Carbon price underperforming: Environment secretary
13 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has been focussed on reducing the Emissions Trading Scheme ‘stockpile’ and carbon prices should rise soon, according to the Secretary for the Environment.
NZ's latest climate target 'weak' – Climate Action Tracker
24 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand's new international climate target to 2035 is weak, and could even allow for higher emissions than the 2030 target, according to a global scientific project that tracks government climate action.
Oil states accused of using scare tactics in bid to sink green shipping deal
12 Aug 2025
Saudi Arabia, Iran and other oil-reliant countries are campaigning to stop the adoption of the IMO’s Net-zero Framework in October.
Brazil issues last-ditch plea for countries to submit climate plans ahead of COP30
Wed 20 Aug 2025
Only 28 countries have submitted carbon-cutting proposals to the UN, with some of the biggest emitters yet to produce plans.
Backlash over govt conservation changes
4 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The government’s proposed changes to the Conservation Act are the most significant roll back in conservation protections in a generation, according to the Green Party.
Failed plastic treaty 'significant disappointment'
Mon 18 Aug 2025
The failure of negotiations on a legally-binding global plastics treaty is a "significant disappointment," but no treaty is still better than a weak one, according to a New Zealand expert.
Strong NZ representation in upcoming global climate report
Today 12:30pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams and Liz Kivi | Eighteen New Zealanders are among more than 600 experts appointed by the IPCC for its next painstaking scientific deep dive into the drivers of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and how adaptation and mitigation can reduce those risks.
'Not giving up' – Right to repair bill in doubt
Today 12:30pm
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A bill that would make it easier for New Zealanders to access spare parts and the information to repair a product themselves while also cutting carbon emissions is looking unlikely to make it into law.
Govt rejects Te Kuha coal mine fast-track bid
13 Aug 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The controversial Te Kuha coal mine on the West Coast has had its application for fast-track approval declined, after failing to meet seven of the application criteria.
Straterra has a new name: the New Zealand Minerals Council
16 Apr 2025
Media release | Straterra has been renamed as New Zealand Minerals Council, says chief executive Josie Vidal.
Climate groups want UK wealth tax to make super-rich fund sustainable economy
17 Jul 2025
Growing number of campaigners urge government to ensure green investment is not done ‘on backs of the poor’.
Heat pumps could cut household energy bills by $1.5 billion a year
12 Aug 2025
By Liz Kivi | Heat pumps could save Kiwi households hundreds of millions of dollars each year, as well as freeing up energy for industrial users, according to a new report.
Last minute change to oil and gas legislation over cleanup costs
31 Jul 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government is expected to repeal the oil and gas ban today, with a last-minute amendment handing discretionary power to two ministers over the controversial issue of decommissioning.
African $60 billion high-speed rail project takes shape
Fri 15 Aug 2025
One of the largest infrastructure projects in Africa has received a new update that could see construction begin soon.
'Yet another rate': Franz Josef ratepayers balk at $2.8m stopbank extension
4 Aug 2025
By Lois Williams, Local Democracy Reporter | Franz Josef ratepayers have given the thumbs down to plans for a $2.8 million stopbank extension to protect the town’s sewerage plant from the Waiho River.
Warmer end to winter but dry spell expected over southern lakes
5 Aug 2025
As hydro lake levels hover just below average levels, climate forecasts indicate that warmer than usual weather conditions will reduce demand, but there will likely be less rain over the southern hydro lakes as New Zealand moves towards spring and summer.
Record UK wildfires have burned an area twice the size of Glasgow in 2025
12 Aug 2025
Wildfires have scorched more than 40,000 hectares of land so far this year across the UK – an area more than twice the size of the Scottish city of Glasgow.
For the first time, China invests more in wind and solar than coal overseas
29 May 2025
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, long derided for its heavy carbon footprint, was dominated by wind and solar power projects for the first time from 2022 to 2023, according to a new analysis. But coal plants financed in earlier years are still coming online.
