Temperatures

The nationwide average temperature in January 2023 was 18.4°C. This was 1.2°C above the 1991-2020 January average from NIWA’s seven station temperature series which began in 1909, and New Zealand’s 10th-warmest January on record.  Warmer than average regional seas are expected to fuel occasional heavy rainfall. Global mean surface air temperature has increased by 1.09oC over the past century. For Aotearoa New Zealand, the atmospheric warming between 1909 and 2016 was 1.1oC.  in New Zealand, one degree of warming translates to a median 13.5 per cent increase in rainfall per hour in a one-in-50-year event of 1 hour duration.

Weather Related

In January 2023, a historic storm in Auckland and the upper North Island claimed lives, damaged homes and infrastructure, and broke rainfall records. climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, and that those impacts will continue to worsen in the future.

Government and Agencies

New Zealand is spending at under half the rate needed to meet its $1.3 billion international climate change financing target, with advocates “watching closely” to ensure it doesn’t become an act of greenwashing.

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