Topics tagged with 'Extreme weather'
Net-zero much cheaper than thought for UK – and unchecked global warming far more costly
9 Jul 2025
Reaching net-zero will be much cheaper for the UK government than previously expected – and the economic damages of unmitigated climate change far more severe.
Water contaminant levels can remain high for eight years after a wildfire, study finds
9 Jul 2025
Scientists are warning that wildfire pollutants can continue to contaminate local waterways for up to eight years after a wildfire event.
Nelson adopts ambitious target to slash emissions
8 Jul 2025
By Max Frethey, Local Democracy Reporter | After some of the most passionate debate seen in the chamber this triennium, Nelson City Council has adopted the more ambitious of two community greenhouse gas targets.
'Exactly what we would expect': climate scientists weigh in on deadly Texas flooding
8 Jul 2025
As the death toll from catastrophic flooding in Texas continued to rise, climate scientists this weekend underscored the link between more frequent and severe extreme weather events and the worsening climate emergency caused primarily by humans burning fossil fuels.
Asia warming at twice the global average: WMO Report
8 Jul 2025
The State of the Climate in Asia 2024 report shows the continent is heating up at twice the global average rate, leading to devastating impacts for ecosystems, societies and economies across the region.
Clear-sighted view to trade-offs crucial to reimagining our relationship with the land
7 Jul 2025
By Nick Swallow | COMMENT: New Zealand could see a 70% drop in the value of dairy land if we pursue our emissions targets for agriculture, according to a new report.
Recent droughts are 'slow-moving global catastrophe' - UN report
7 Jul 2025
From Somalia to mainland Europe, the past two years have seen some of the most ravaging droughts in recorded history, made worse by climate change.
Media round-up
4 Jul 2025
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: Proposed changes to forestry rules won’t solve the ‘slash’ problem; New Plymouth District Council officially opposes seabed mining; and is local media coverage of climate change lacking when reporting extreme weather events?
Central Chinese cities fight floods unleashed by record rain
4 Jul 2025
A record summer downpour in China's central province of Hubei dumped more than a month's worth of rain in just 12 hours on the city of Xianfeng, prompting authorities to move 18,000 people to safety, shut schools, and suspend bus services.
Record-breaking sea temperatures in the Mediterranean spark fresh warnings from scientists
4 Jul 2025
Intense marine heat can have devastating consequences for ecosystems with its ripple effects also extending onto land.
Warmer seas fuel dangerous ‘weather bomb’ in New South Wales
3 Jul 2025
If the storm shapes up as predicted, we can expect to see damage to houses and trees as well as significant beach erosion – especially in heavily populated areas exposed to the storm’s southern flank.
NZ urgently needs to change approach to flood management - experts
2 Jul 2025
Experts say climate change is squarely to blame for flooding in Nelson - but isn’t getting the media attention it deserves - and the country urgently needs to change its approach to flood management in the face of climate change.
Govt policy going backwards on protecting communities from climate-fuelled flooding, say campaigners
1 Jul 2025
Extreme flooding at the top of the South Island demonstrates the dangers of the government’s ‘growth at any cost’ agenda, according to freshwater campaigners.
Pakistan slams climate ‘injustice’ as deadly floods hit country again
1 Jul 2025
Pakistan’s climate minister says country facing ‘crisis of injustice’ as more deadly flooding and extreme weather events hit the country.
Fires break out in France as southern Europe heatwave intensifies
1 Jul 2025
In France, wildfires broke out in the Corbières area in the southwest, where temperatures topped 40°C, forcing the evacuation of a campsite and abbey as a precaution.
US government cuts key data used in hurricane forecasting
1 Jul 2025
Weather experts are warning that hurricane forecasts will be severely hampered by the upcoming cutoff of key data from U.S. Department of Defense satellites, the latest Trump administration move with potential consequences for the quality of forecasting.
Europe on alert as first major heatwave of 2025 pushes temperatures to 42C
30 Jun 2025
Authorities across Europe are on alert as the first heatwave of the summer pushes temperatures up to 42C (107.6F), as the fastest-warming continent continues to suffer the effects of the climate emergency.
Council land banks to prepare for future disasters
27 Jun 2025
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter | In a "uniquely Hurunui" move, a North Canterbury council is land banking to prepare for future natural disasters and the threat of climate change.
Floods swamp cities in Southwest China with more storms due
26 Jun 2025
Citizens in Guizhou and other parts of southern China have been swamped by days of record-breaking rainfall as the East Asia monsoon kicked into high gear over the past week.
The true costs of climate disasters
24 Jun 2025
Scientists have linked extreme weather to climate change. Now they can quantify its impact on the damage, writes Chloé Farand.
90% of NZers expect more extreme weather disasters because of climate change
23 Jun 2025
A new climate change poll from AMI, State, and NZI shows New Zealanders are expecting more extreme weather events as a result of climate change.
Extreme heat is the biggest threat to insurers and businesses
18 Jun 2025
Deadly temperatures put great stress not just on human life but also on the economy, infrastructure, agriculture and health care
Forestry consents and relaxed rules in erosion zones sow seeds of future disaster
13 Jun 2025
OPINION: The government’s move to restrict exotic forestry on our best food-growing soils will push even more forestry investment onto high erosion risk land on the East Coast, with the worst land becoming the only land left for the most intensive and destructive land use, writes Manu Caddie
Extreme ocean warming engulfed South-West Pacific in 2024
6 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Unprecedented ocean warming engulfed the South-West Pacific in 2024, with extreme heat and rainfall causing deadly and devastating impacts and sea level rise threatening entire islands.
Australian farmers face 'new world' of extreme weather as scientists urge action on climate change
6 Jun 2025
Scientists and politicians are warning big policy shifts are needed to mitigate extreme weather impacts, following what farmers describe as unprecedented flooding in the New South Wales Hunter and Mid North Coast regions last month.
Climate progress slowing, says Auckland councillor
5 Jun 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | The devastating cyclone that tore through Tāmaki Makaurau in 2023 left behind more than just broken infrastructure, sparking calls to focus on facts over ideology in the fight against climate change.
Death toll from Nigeria flash floods rises to 151
3 Jun 2025
At least 151 people in central Nigeria are now known to have died following flash floods that destroyed homes and displaced thousands of residents earlier this week.
After the LA fires, scientists study the toxic hazards left behind
3 Jun 2025
Researchers from Harvard and universities in California and Texas are studying the long-term effects of the Eaton and Palisades fires on air, water, soils and surfaces of properties that didn’t burn.
Glacier collapse buries most of Swiss village
30 May 2025
The Swiss village of Blatten has been partially destroyed after a huge chunk of glacier crashed down into the valley.
India's monsoon rains arrive eight days early, earliest in 16 years
29 May 2025
Monsoon rains hit the coast of India's southernmost state of Kerala on Saturday, eight days earlier than usual, marking the earliest arrival in 16 years and providing the promise of a bumper harvest and relief from a gruelling heatwave.
New climate hazards report for Waikato region
26 May 2025
By Shannon Williams | A new hazards and risks report from Waikato Regional Council aims to help councils, iwi, businesses and communities in the region understand and respond to risks associated with climate change.
Water crisis on the horizon?
26 May 2025
Media release | Sewage contaminating Auckland oyster farms highlights the “dire state” of water infrastructure in Aotearoa, says University of Auckland Associate Professor Daniel Hikuroa.
Cuts to climate finance put exports in jeopardy: Lawyers
23 May 2025
By Liz Kivi | The government has halved international climate finance, a move aid organisations describe as “devastating,” and which lawyers say could put our Paris Agreement commitments and export market access at risk.
Climate change could drive surge in foreclosures and lender losses, new study finds
22 May 2025
Extreme weather linked to climate change could spell financial ruin for many American homeowners and lead to billions in losses for lenders, a new study finds.
Budget 2025 needs to prioritise a thriving and resilient Pacific region
16 May 2025
Media release | World Vision New Zealand is urging the government to prioritise Pacific prosperity and resilience with strong investment in climate finance and foreign aid as part of Budget 2025.
Running blind: The silencing and censoring of environmental threats to US national security
16 May 2025
Immediately after the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January 2025, his administration began purging environmental reports from the public record.
Climate change will worsen existing threats to Hawke’s Bay
15 May 2025
Climate change is projected to substantially alter weather patterns and environmental conditions in the coming decades, with significant implications for the human, built and natural environments.
More than 100 dead after flooding in eastern DR Congo, officials say
15 May 2025
Heavy overnight floods have washed away several villages in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing more than 100 people, according to local officials, in a nation suffering war and mass displacement.
Three-year flood map legal dispute ends in win for landowners
13 May 2025
By Alisha Evans, Local Democracy Reporter | Tauranga property owners have had a “significant win” after the council agreed to update flood maps, a developer says.
‘Serious’ game looks at coastal climate change
13 May 2025
Media release | A new online game that enables New Zealanders to experience a climate-changed future and explore choices has been launched this month to get 10,000 game-plays over the wettest time of the year.
Commissioner calls on govt to better manage economic risks of climate change
12 May 2025
Climate change is creating an inevitable liability for the government which needs to be understood and managed, according to the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment.
Deadly April rainfall in US South and Midwest was intensified by climate change, scientists say
12 May 2025
Human-caused climate change intensified deadly rainfall in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas and other states in early April and made it more likely to occur.
Most Kiwis anxious over extreme weather events
9 May 2025
More than half of all New Zealanders are worried about storms, heavy rainfall and flooding as New Zealand faces continued wild weather events.
Media round-up
9 May 2025
In our weekly round-up of climate coverage in local media: When climate resilience meets resident resistance in Auckland; atmospheric and marine heatwaves in and around New Zealand are increasing climate extremes; and seaweed's climate superpowers.
Real-world geoengineering experiments revealed by UK agency
9 May 2025
Trials will test ways to block sunlight and slow climate crisis that threatens to trigger catastrophic tipping points.
Second council quits Hawke’s Bay climate committee
7 May 2025
By Linda Hall, Local Democracy Reporter | Wairoa District Council has pulled the plug on the Hawke’s Bay Climate Action Joint Committee after councillors questioned its value.
Scientific societies say they’ll step up after Trump puts key climate report in doubt
7 May 2025
Two major scientific societies on Friday said they will try to fill the void from the Trump administration’s dismissal of scientists writing a cornerstone federal report on what climate change is doing to the United States.
Northland flood defences pass first major rainfall test
6 May 2025
A small, flood-prone Northland community has withstood a 10-year rainfall event, thanks to new flood protection works led by Northland Regional Council.
Climate effects of volcanoes beneath the waves
5 May 2025
Media release | Volcanoes erupting underwater have a distinctive effect on the climate that is larger and more widespread than previously thought, according to an international group led by University of Auckland and Tongan scientists.
An insurance crisis compounded by climate change threatens the broader economy
5 May 2025
One expert speaking at a forum on insurance and housing says climate change could soon mark a “death spiral” for the financial industry in parts of the country.
Environmental groups call for ETS reform
Fri 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.
Media round-up
Fri 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?
NZ’s government wants tourism to drive economic growth – but how will it deal with aviation emissions?
22 Oct 2025
By Robert McLachlan, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa – Massey University | Following a brief dip during the COVID pandemic, aviation is back in a growth phase.
Singapore sets first ever sustainable aviation fuel levy, as Southeast Asia’s fuel industry grows
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Flying in and out of Singapore, home to Southeast Asia’s busiest airport, will get slightly more expensive this year as the city state begins imposing a levy of between 75 cents to $32 per ticket to fund sustainable aviation fuel.
Greens slam move to disband Environment Ministry
Fri 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.
Govt’s own modelling shows LNG leads to higher electricity prices than other solutions
Thu 19 Feb 2026
By Christina Hood | COMMENT: According to modelling conducted by Concept Consulting for MBIE, either developing the Tariki gas storage facility or managing electricity demand would deliver lower wholesale electricity prices than the Government’s preferred solution of an LNG import terminal.
New study looks to nature markets to accelerate climate response
Wed 18 Feb 2026
The Nature Conservancy is teaming up with local groups to study the most affordable and effective ways of restoring native habitats at the top of the South Island, including ways to fund the work using international voluntary carbon markets and biodiversity credits.
California, Connecticut preparing 'attack' against Trump's repeal of basis of US climate regulation
Fri 20 Feb 2026
California and Connecticut are working together on a multi-state "plan of attack" against President Donald Trump's repeal of the foundation of federal climate regulation of vehicles, the states' attorneys general told Reuters on Tuesday.
Carbon price drops as volatility continues
Tue 17 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market is still displaying extreme volatility, with prices dropping back to below $40 yesterday, after trading as high as $46.25 last week.
Flawed decision-making around taxing electricity to fund LNG import terminal
Mon 16 Feb 2026
By Simon Orme | COMMENT: The Government's decision to back an LNG import terminal exemplifies an egregious failure in public policy and energy sector governance.
LNG: a rational choice compared to unpalatable alternatives
10 Feb 2026
By Pattrick Smellie | COMMENT: By deciding to underwrite the private construction of a liquefied natural gas import facility in Taranaki, the Government has made a rational choice in favour of energy security and affordability.
Sustainable retail-office project breaks ground under new Green Star framework
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Construction is set to begin on a new retail-office development in central Auckland, which is targeting a 40% reduction in embodied carbon and 25% lower energy.
Opposition attacks Govt over fossil fuel phaseout backdown
2 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | Revelations that Resources Minister Shane Jones ruled out New Zealand signing up to a 'road map' away from fossil fuels at last year’s global climate summit show the National Party’s minor coalition partners’ undue influence over the Government, according to Labour leader Chris Hipkins.
Carbon market rallies but auction floor still out of reach
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The carbon market has rallied, with secondary market prices up more than 25% in the past two weeks, although current prices in the mid-$40s are still far below this year’s $71 auction floor, with the first auction of 2026 less than three weeks away.
DOC trims costs and winds down jobs for nature
10 Nov 2025
The Department of Conservation (DOC) is entering a new phase of tighter budgets and structural change as it winds down the pandemic-era Jobs for Nature programme and reshapes its operations to absorb long-term cost pressures.
Transport dominates NZ’s rising consumer emissions
10 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Transport pollution was the biggest contributor to an increase in New Zealand’s consumption-based emissions in 2023, with emissions from household travel up 12%, and consumption-based emissions totalling 58.3 million tonnes – up 1.6% from the previous year.
Slash for cash turns storm debris into jobs and climate resilience
Thu 19 Feb 2026
A community-led initiative in Tairāwhiti is transforming storm-damaged forestry slash into jobs, soil regeneration and long-term climate resilience.
Calls for action to reduce emissions as extreme weather bites
Tue 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.
RMA to speed up fossil fuel consents
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.”
European Central Bank's green supervision grows teeth, but will banks avoid being bitten?
13 Feb 2026
After several years of issuing guidance and repeatedly calling on banks to take climate and environmental risk management seriously, the European Central Bank is moving from guidance and expectations to enforcement.
Green Member’s Bill aims to give whales legal ‘personhood’
9 Feb 2026
The Green Party wants to give whales legal rights, including the right to sue.
Claims that AI can help fix climate dismissed as greenwashing
Wed 18 Feb 2026
Tech companies are conflating traditional artificial intelligence with generative AI when claiming the energy-hungry technology could help avert climate breakdown, according to a report.
Govt missing opportunity to slash electricity prices, says expert
11 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s fixation on eliminating the "dry-year risk margin" as a lever to reduce costs misses a much bigger opportunity to lower electricity prices, according to Christina Hood, head of Compass Climate.
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?
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.
Climate law change spanner in the works for Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry
19 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government’s controversial changes to New Zealand’s legal framework for climate policy have thrown a spanner in the works for a long-running Waitangi Tribunal Inquiry into climate change.
Australian gas producer Santos wins court fight over net zero claims
Wed 18 Feb 2026
An Australian court on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit against gas producer Santos that alleged the company misled the public on its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
Govt unveils plans for carbon storage regulations – and ETS rewards
18 Dec 2025
By Liz Kivi | The Government has released plans to regulate carbon capture and storage in natural geological formations, which include Emissions Trading Scheme incentives, with the aim of introducing related legislation in 2026.
Seabed miners quit South Taranaki fast-track bid
Fri 20 Feb 2026
By Craig Ashworth, Local Democracy Reporter | Would-be seabed miners have abandoned their fast-track bid to mine in South Taranaki waters, saying they can’t change the minds of the panel that rejected their application.
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.
Partnership to advance Pacific science and environmental leadership
Thu 19 Feb 2026
Media release | Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration in Pacific-led science, research and capacity-building, with a strong focus on environmental sustainability and ocean stewardship.
Lawyers seek answers on climate impacts of LNG import facility
13 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | Lawyers for Climate Action has written to Climate Change and Energy Minister Simon Watts warning that the Government's plan for an LNG import terminal could be in conflict with New Zealand’s climate obligations and emissions reduction targets.
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.
Kiwi startup takes on global plastic pollution
12 Feb 2026
A New Zealand startup is launching what it says is the world’s first plastic-free effervescent drink tablet, with the ambitious aim of eliminating bottled beverages to reduce global plastic pollution.
78% of NZers want bottom trawling banned as Govt pushes to catch more coral in South Pacific
Tue 17 Feb 2026
Media release | New polling shows overwhelming support from New Zealanders for a ban on bottom trawling in the South Pacific high seas, says Greenpeace.
Critical minerals talks with US questioned in Waitangi Tribunal climate inquiry
9 Feb 2026
By Shannon Morris-Williams | New Zealand and the United States' negotiations over critical minerals have raised questions for the Waitangi Tribunal’s long-running inquiry into climate change.
IEA Declaration strengthens international co-operation on critical minerals
Fri 20 Feb 2026
Media release – NZ Government | New Zealand has joined international leaders at the 2026 International Energy Agency Ministerial meeting in committing to strengthen global co-operation on critical minerals to strengthen long‑term energy security.
Antarctic sediment core reveals past ice sheet retreat during warmer climates
Wed 18 Feb 2026
A record-breaking sediment core drilled from beneath the West Antarctic Ice Sheet is giving scientists new insight into how the ice sheet responded to warmer climates in the past — and what that could mean for future sea-level rise.
Solar households to get little-noticed tax break
23 Sep 2025
A provision in the government’s latest tax bill would exempt households from paying tax on income they earn by selling excess electricity back to the grid.
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.
Pacific climate response in question as NZ finance remains unclear
19 Dec 2025
By Shannon Morris-Williams | With New Zealand's $1.3 billion international climate finance commitment set to end with no clarity on what follows, the Auditor-General says oversight of that funding remains patchy and long-term outcomes are unclear.
Infrastructure plan calls for ‘predictable approach’ to electrifying economy
Wed 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.
Climate ambassador moves on
13 Feb 2026
By Liz Kivi | The Government is on the hunt for a new top climate diplomat, with previous climate ambassador Stu Horne moving on to a posting in Honolulu as New Zealand’s Consul General to Hawai’i.
EU to ban destruction of unsold clothes and shoes
12 Feb 2026
The European Commission has adopted new measures that will require medium and large companies to stop discarding unsold clothing and footwear, in the bloc’s latest move to target textile waste.
New research on climate adaptation as severe weather hits
Mon 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.
Study finds warming world increases days when weather is prone to fires around the globe
Fri 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.
Hydrogen plant to start construction
10 Feb 2026
Construction is set to start this month on Hiringa Energy’s long delayed green hydrogen project in South Taranaki, after years of consenting fights that culminated in the Court of Appeal rejecting Greenpeace’s challenge in late 2023.
