According to a new report by New Zealand’s government, the country is at risk of more frequent heatwaves, resulting in potentially catastrophic glacier melts in the near future.
Atmospheric CO₂, methane and nitrous oxide all hit their highest recorded concentrations in 2025 in New Zealand, while seven of the country’s 10 warmest years have occurred since 2016. Since 1909, it has warmed by 1.36C and its oceans are warming 34% faster than global average.
Climate change is not only impacting the natural environment in New Zealand but also the man-made infrastructure – 1% of New Zealand’s road network is exposed to coastal flooding, potentially isolating around 140,000 people and 15,000 businesses from essential goods and services.
Flooding itself may also become more common as extreme rainfall is expected to become more severe in the region.
The report states that human-induced warming increases extreme daily rainfall by around 5–8% for every 1C of warming, while some areas could see 1-in-10-year rainfall events occurring twice as frequently.
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