Year of climate extremes ‘clarion call’ for NZ
New Zealand had its warmest year on record in 2016, which sent records tumbling across the South Island.
Niwa’s annual climate summary, released yesterday, showed a climate increasingly defined by extremes.
Its data showed it had been New Zealand’s warmest year since records began in 1909, about 0.8 degrees Celsius above average.
Many places around the country were warmer than ever before, in some places by up to 2C.
Experts say it is the result of a warming climate and consistent with a warming trend globally.
It was caused by a combination of climate change, El Nino and unusually warm ocean temperatures, Niwa forecaster Chris Brandolino said.
An increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere had warmed the country by about 1C over a century.
‘‘You combine this long-term warming trend with some natural variability. . . It adds up to a recordbreaking year, temperature-wise, in New Zealand,’’ he said.
The South Island is becoming increasingly split, with above-average rainfall on parts of the West Coast and Fiordland and below-average rainfall on the eastern coast north of Christchurch.
Christchurch was the driest major centre in the country, with 577mm of rain.
It rained more than twice as much in Wellington, the wettest major centre.
Christchurch also recorded the second-highest temperature of the year, hitting 35.3C on February 27. It was narrowly beaten by Clyde and Alexandra, which hit 35.5C earlier that month.
Christchurch was 0.8C warmer than normal, not enough to break its record.
It did have spikes of unusual warmth, however: When it hit 23.1C on June 10, it was Christchurch’s warmest June temperature since records began 150 years ago.
Dry conditions prevailed around the region, with groundwater levels reaching record lows and drought continuing in North Canterbury.
Despite more rain than the year before, the region still struggled with low moisture levels.
North Canterbury also broke temperature records, with Cheviot, Rangiora and Waiau all notching up their warmest years on record.
Other areas with record or near record heat were Wanaka, Franz Josef, Kaikoura, Lincoln, Akaroa, Tekapo and Cromwell.
Both Christchurch and Dunedin were warmer than usual, but neither broke their respective records.
It was a different story on the South Island’s West Coast, where rain was in no short supply.
Milford Sound broke an 87-year record, receiving more than 9000mm of rain over the year, nearly 40 per cent more than normal.
Areas such as Franz Josef, Haast, and parts of Tasman also had high rainfall.
A permanently warmer climate could have big repercussions for New Zealand.
The Southern Alps are losing ice at an alarming rate and native species sensitive to change are facing less food and more predators.
A warmer climate would result in a higher risk of fires, particularly in the high country, and increase the risk of coastal hazards.
Geoff Keey, a climate adviser to Forest & Bird, said the warming climate was already having an impact, which should be a matter of concern for everyone, not just environmentalists.
‘‘Anyone who’s under the age of 30 has never experienced what we would call a normal climate,’’ he said.
‘‘There’s been a real shift, and the effects will be wide-ranging.’’
It was already clear in Arthur’s Pass, where there had been ‘‘an almost inconceivable’’ number of rodents in the forest due to a beech mast. Residents had been trapping about 1000 mice a month. More rodents are a major threat to local species such as kea.
Another species at risk was the yellow-eyed penguin, the world’s rarest penguin species.
Nest numbers had dropped significantly around Otago and Southland since 2012, due in part to widespread starvation and dehydration caused by an inability to find food. New Zealand was the ‘‘seabird capital of the world,’’ and the many rare, native species would struggle to find food with warming oceans and changing currents, Keey said. ‘‘We’re a land and sea-based country . . . Our entire economy and way of life is tied to land and sea. ‘‘We need an actual plan from the Government to cut emissions.’’ Climate scientist Dr Jim Salinger said the warming trend was clear. ‘‘The [trends] reflect that the record greenhouse gases levels now are warming our climate,’’ he said. ‘‘This is very much a clarion call for action on both mitigating and adapting to climate change.’’ He said the permanent ice volume of the Southern Alps had reduced to approximately one-fifth of that in the late 19th century – ‘‘signals of accelerating global warming locally’’, he said.