Wellington, Jan 8 2024 was New Zealand's 10th-warmest year on record, and eight of New Zealand's 10 warmest years on record have occurred since 2013, according to the annual climate summary published by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) on Wednesday.
The ongoing warming trend observed both locally and globally is consistent with human-caused climate change, which is largely driven by human greenhouse gas emissions, said a NIWA statement, adding atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) levels continued to rise, surpassing 420 parts per million (ppm) at NIWA's monitoring station during 2024.
The 2024 nationwide average temperature calculated from NIWA's seven station series was 13.25 degrees Celsius, being 0.51 degree Celsius above the 1991-2020 annual average, it said, adding eight months of 2024 had temperatures that were well above average or above average.
The prevalence of west-southwest winds contributed to a dry year for many northern and eastern areas of New Zealand, with the dryness exceptional in some locations, said the annual climate summary, adding several extreme rainfall events occurred throughout the year, with four local state of emergency declarations, it said.
"Global temperatures continued their upward trend in 2024, after an extended streak of exceptionally high monthly global mean temperatures," said GNS Science Principal Scientist Nick Cradock-Henry, Xinhua news agency reported.
New Zealand was 1.5 degrees above the long-term average in 2024, and the trend towards increased rainfall in western regions, and hotter, generally drier conditions in the east continues, Cradock-Henry said, adding enhancing resilience and accelerating adaptation action to safeguard lives and livelihoods will be an essential part of New Zealand's response planning, going forward, regardless of how 2025 unfolds.
James Renwick, professor of Physical Geography, Victoria University of Wellington, said there were significant floods both in the west and east at different times of year, which is to be expected in a warming climate, as the atmosphere becomes increasing loaded with moisture.
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