Warming seas

New Zealand’s coastal waters were unusually warm last month, according to Niwa (National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research). November sea surface temperatures (SSTs) were between 1.1C to 1.8C warmer than average, depending on the region. The north and west of both islands had the warmest November SSTs on record since at least 1981. Localised marine heatwave events have been occurring in waters near Northland, Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, and Fiordland for several months.