100 daily records set around the country in 2019, with experts saying global heating is driving the trend

This article is more than 8 months old

This article is more than 8 months old

New Zealand has experienced its fourth-warmest year since records began in 1909, with temperatures between 0.5C and 1.2C higher than annual averages across the country.

There were 100 new daily temperature records set at spots around New Zealand.

The country has not experienced the severe weather extremes that have plagued neighbouring Australia and its climate is traditionally much more temperate. But the “trend towards warming shows that we are affected by climate change”, said Professor James Renwick, a climate scientist at Victoria University Wellington, in comments to New Zealand’s Science Media Centre.

Renwick said that seas around New Zealand experienced “record warmth” in many locations.

While the country’s climate was variable, mean temperatures had exceeded the 1981-2010 average in 80% of the past 20 years.

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“That’s how a warming climate works,” he said. “We see ups and downs but the chances of a warm year are increasing all the time.”

Stronger than usual westerly winds blowing across the country had resulted in droughts. “The knock-on effect of this is we start 2020 with many eastern and northern regions of the country thirsty for some significant rainfall,” Lisa Murray, a meteorologist at New Zealand’s MetService, told the Science Media Centre.

While rainfall was up in some parts of the South Island, large areas of the country had only 50-80% of their usual rainfall, according to National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research figures.

“This pattern is what we are likely to see more of as the climate changes this century, with more frequent drought and increased fire danger in eastern regions and in the northern North Island,” said Renwick.

In other areas, however, flooding would be more common.

“The average amount of moisture in the air is strongly related to temperature, so as the climate warms, heavy rainfalls become heavier and flooding becomes more common.”

The MetService introduced a severe red weather warning in 2019 to caution people about destructive weather events that required immediate action, Murray said.