Record greenhouse gas levels push New Zealand toward harsher heatwaves and glacier loss

The latest Our Atmosphere and Climate 2026 assessment warns that New Zealand is experiencing unprecedented climate pressure as greenhouse gases reach record concentrations. Average temperatures have climbed 1.36 °C since records began, and most of the warmest years have been recorded in the past ten years. Glaciers, once covering roughly 56 cubic kilometres in 1997, have contracted to about 30 cubic kilometres by 2023, with projections showing a 14-86 % loss under low-emission pathways and up to total disappearance under high-emission pathways by the end of the century.

Carbon dioxide levels are 30 % higher than in 1972, while methane peaked in 2025, intensifying heatwaves, ocean warming and marine ecosystem stress. The report highlights rising health threats from hotter days, increased storm and cyclone activity, drought impacts on agriculture, sea-level rise threatening infrastructure, and reduced access to culturally important sites for Māori communities.