Topics tagged with 'Extreme weather'
Building more sustainably in the wake of cyclones
10 Mar 2026
Media release | A new University of Auckland project aims to turn about 1200 Auckland houses destroyed by cyclones into a resource for a more sustainable future.
Humanity heating planet faster than ever before, study finds
10 Mar 2026
Climate breakdown is occurring more rapidly with the heating rate almost doubling, according to research that excludes the effect of natural factors behind the latest scorching temperatures.
Heavy rains and flooding kills at least 23 in Nairobi
10 Mar 2026
At least 23 people have been killed in Nairobi after heavy rain overnight caused severe flooding in Kenya's capital city.
Almost $190k in relief funds help storm-hit Whangaruru coast
9 Mar 2026
By Susan Botting, Local Democracy Reporter | More than two thirds of the $280,000 emergency relief fund set up to help weather-hit Whangaruru coast residents has been given out.
Global coastal sea-level risks may be underestimated, say scientists
5 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Coastal communities across the Pacific and Southeast Asia could be facing greater sea-level rise risks than previously estimated, researchers say.
‘Normal was left in the dust’: El Niño may return this year and make the planet even hotter
5 Mar 2026
Fears that global temperatures will hit record highs have started to grow, as experts warn El Niño may form later this year.
‘Expect the unexpected’: Commission calls for long-term modelling to manage extreme weather risk
4 Mar 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealanders must prepare for extreme weather that defies historical patterns, according to the Natural Hazards Commission.
Climate Resilient Communities Fund open for applications
4 Mar 2026
Media release | Northland Regional Council’s popular Climate Resilience Communities Fund is open for applications.
Pacific climate advocates welcome pre-COP31 meeting in Fiji and Tuvalu
27 Feb 2026
Media release – 350.org | Climate advocates across the Pacific will now prepare for the Pre-COP31 meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu, with the Pacific Islands Forum confirming the hosts yesterday.
Floods and landslides in Brazil kill at least 30 after record rainfall
26 Feb 2026
Three firefighters pulled a man’s body from the mud amid the rubble of houses swept away in a landslide in south-eastern Brazil, where 30 people died and 39 were still missing on Tuesday after torrential rains.
Hipkins rejects LNG terminal, backs renewables
24 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Labour leader Chris Hipkins used his State of the Nation address to warn that worsening extreme weather and rising energy costs show climate change is no longer a distant threat.
Tairāwhiti needs proper Govt support to heal the land – not empty announcements for political optics
24 Feb 2026
OPINION: The Government’s answer to Tairāwhiti’s severe erosion crisis – that the region apply for modest, contestable funding rounds – while rejecting the region's own land transition business case, leaves our long-term resilience hanging in the balance, writes Manu Caddie.
Ruapehu Mayor welcomes $3.5m to restore fire-scarred Tongariro
24 Feb 2026
By Moana Ellis, Local Democracy Reporter | Ruapehu Mayor Weston Kirton has thanked the Government for its pledge of $3.5 million over five years to restore more than 3000 hectares of Tongariro National Park destroyed by fire last year.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
20 Feb 2026
Several environmental organisations are calling on political parties to make climate and biodiversity central to the 2026 election campaign, with reforming the Emissions Trading Scheme seen as a key priority.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
20 Feb 2026
The Green Party has joined climate and health advocates in condemning the Government's decision to disestablish the Ministry for the Environment as part of a multi-ministry merger.
Media round-up
20 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: 'Every tonne matters': The climate scientist who wants to give you hope; Minister says managed retreat is an option; and climate change is here – is New Zealand ready?
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
20 Feb 2026
The number of days when the weather gets hot, dry and windy — ideal to spark extreme wildfires — has nearly tripled in the past 45 years across the globe, with the trend increasing even higher in the Americas, a new study shows.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
18 Feb 2026
Aotearoa’s first National Infrastructure Plan, introduced to Parliament yesterday, calls for "a predictable approach to electrifying the economy" as one of ten priorities for the next decade.
What northern NZ’s wet and sticky summer reveals about our warming atmosphere
18 Feb 2026
New Zealand’s summer has been defined by repeated bursts of intense rain, as subtropical systems have swept down over the upper North Island and beyond.
EU countries need to 'urgently coordinate' to adapt to climate change, advisory board warns
18 Feb 2026
More frequent climate-related events such as flooding, wildfires, repeated heatwaves, and droughts call for a precautionary approach, according to the latest report from the European Scientific Advisory Board on Climate Change.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Renewable energy advocates and environmental groups are calling for more action to reduce emissions and increase resilience as severe weather wreaks havoc across the country.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
16 Feb 2026
As extreme weather batters the country yet again, researchers have published the first ever empirical study of climate adaptation justice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Media round-up
13 Feb 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: Senior UK ministers have asked their New Zealand counterparts to explain new climate policies, National’s LNG blunders are a warning ahead of election campaign, and what are the lessons New Zealand should take from another summer of weather disasters?
January floods driven by tropical systems and La Niña conditions
12 Feb 2026
Record-breaking rainfall across parts of Aotearoa in January was fuelled by tropical moisture and persistent low-pressure systems, with some regions recording more than five times their normal monthly rainfall, Earth Sciences New Zealand says.
Te Araroa residents on edge over clogged stream and incoming Gisborne rain
12 Feb 2026
By Zita Campbell, Local Democracy Reporter | Anxiety levels are rising in storm-damaged areas of the East Coast as more rain is predicted to hit the region this week.
NZ art focussing on climate on display at Beijing Biennale
12 Feb 2026
An artist responding to the consequences of climate disruption is the first New Zealander in six years to feature at the prestigious Beijing Art Biennale.
$8.9m research project to map future ocean change around Aotearoa
10 Feb 2026
The major research project aims to better understand how warming oceans are driving extreme weather events around New Zealand, from heavy rainfall to tropical cyclones.
Farmers report catastrophic damage to crops as Storm Marta hits Spain and Portugal
10 Feb 2026
Farmers in Spain warned on Saturday that torrential rains and high winds had left fields submerged and caused millions of euros worth of damage to crops, as Spain and Portugal braced for more extreme weather.
Heat with no end: climate model sets out an unbearable future for parts of Africa
10 Feb 2026
People often think of a heatwave as a temporary event, a brutal week of sun that eventually breaks with a cool breeze. But as the climate changes globally, in parts of Africa, that level of heat is becoming a permanent part of the weather.
NZ-UAE partnership boosts advanced tech
9 Feb 2026
Media release | A new Antarctic science partnership with a leading UAE university will grow New Zealand’s advanced engineering and modelling capability, supporting high-value jobs, encouraging economic growth, and enabling smarter climate risk management, Science, Innovation and Technology Minister Dr Shane Reti says.
Morocco evacuates 140,000 people as torrential rains and dam releases trigger floods
9 Feb 2026
More than 140,000 people were evacuated from their homes in northwestern Morocco as heavy rainfall and water releases from overfilled dams led to flooding, the Interior Ministry said. Stormy weather also disrupted maritime traffic between Morocco and Spain.
$7m boost for marae adaptation as climate impacts intensify
5 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | A further $7 million has been committed to marae climate resilience projects under the second stage of the Māori Climate Platform, with funding targeted at flood protection, water infrastructure, renewable energy and, in one case, relocating a marae to higher ground.
Auckland Council raises flood mitigation limit to avoid costly buyouts
5 Feb 2026
By Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata, Local Democracy Reporter | As Auckland Council’s storm recovery programme moves into its final phase, councillors have agreed to lift the cap on flood mitigation spending per household in a bid to avoid more expensive property buyouts.
Companies either weather climate risk now or pay for it later
5 Feb 2026
COMMENT: Last year, extreme weather didn’t just shatter records, it wiped more than $320 billion from the global economy, a sum larger than the annual GDP of countries like Finland and Chile.
'Damning' report challenges forestry’s role in Tairāwhiti as sector rejects conclusions
4 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New independent analysis commissioned by Mana Taiao Tairāwhiti challenges long-standing claims that industrial forestry underpins the Tairāwhiti economy.
Wales council to buy and demolish homes prone to flooding
4 Feb 2026
A row of homes in a village in south Wales is to be bought by a local authority and demolished as they can no longer be protected from flooding caused by the climate crisis.
Argentina fires ravage pristine Patagonia forests, fueling criticism of Milei’s austerity
4 Feb 2026
The wildfires, among the worst to hit the drought-stricken Patagonia region in decades, have devastated more than 45,000 hectares (174 square miles) of Argentina’s forests in the last month and a half, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents and tourists.
Scientists warn that reforms entrench instability as climate risks grow
3 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Science reforms intended to strengthen New Zealand’s research system are instead compounding long-standing failures, according to the New Zealand Association of Scientists, which says instability, lost capability and weak accountability are leaving the country increasingly exposed to climate hazards.
The politics of risk in 2026
3 Feb 2026
The opening speeches of Parliament’s first sitting days offered little new policy detail, but they repeated the themes likely to define energy and environment politics in 2026 - and the framing each party wants to carry into an election year.
Fast-moving floodwater poses hidden danger for cities
3 Feb 2026
Media release: University of Canterbury | Floodwater doesn’t have to be deep to be dangerous — sometimes it just has to be moving.
Fossil fuel firms may have to pay for climate damage under proposed UN tax
3 Feb 2026
Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation could also force ultra-rich to pay global wealth tax.
Kiwis want Govt investment to reduce climate risk
2 Feb 2026
New Zealanders strongly support proactive efforts to reduce the risks from climate related events like flooding, landslips and sea level rise and keep communities safe, according to a new survey.
Commentators slam Govt inaction in aftermath of climate change-fuelled storms
30 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | Climate action - or inaction - is shaping up to be an election issue, with multiple commentators drawing a line between the Coalition Government’s backsliding on climate targets and the deadly extreme weather events of the past week.
Ōtara homeowner lays bare cost of flood-proofing as council confirms no private funding
30 Jan 2026
Taelegalolo'u Mary Afemata | A lifelong Ōtara resident is using her family home as a real-world example of what flood resilience looks like in practice.
Media round-up
30 Jan 2026
In our round-up of climate coverage in local media: A climate scientist says it's not too late for people to reduce emissions and slow the effects of climate change, forestry urges Government to remove legal accountability for slash, and which regions lead NZ in rooftop solar – and which ones lag behind?
Govt rules out support for Gisborne storm transition plan
29 Jan 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The Government has ruled out providing financial support for Gisborne District Council’s long-term storm and land-use transition plan, despite mounting evidence that poor land use is intensifying the impacts of extreme weather across Tairāwhiti and other regions.
Deforestation and cropland expansion driving stronger heatwaves
29 Jan 2026
New research has revealed that land clearing and rapid development can sharply intensify heatwaves beyond the impacts of global warming, offering important lessons for many countries already grappling with record-breaking heat.
Deadly US winter storm leaves flights delayed and thousands without power
29 Jan 2026
The storm, which caused chaos from Texas to the tip of Maine over the weekend, snarled roadways, knocked out power, and buried major cities under a thick blanket of snow.
Court rejects challenge to Minister and Commission over climate targets
28 Jan 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Supreme Court has rejected Lawyers for Climate Action’s bid to challenge the Climate Change Commission and former Climate Minister James Shaw over climate targets, ending a long-running case which had been working its way through the courts since 2021.