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This year it is on track to rank in the top 10 hottest in New Zealand history, according to Niwa.
With mercury set to skyrocket in December, a top 5 result is not out of the question.
Through the end of November, temperatures across the country have been 0.7 degrees Celsius warmer than average. This is based on data from seven weather stations, from Auckland to Dunedin, and is compared to temperatures between 1981 and 2010.
If this continues through the end of December, 2020 will be the seventh warmest year on record for New Zealand, said Niwa forecaster Ben Noll.
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“Depending on where December ends, the ranking could go up a bit more,” he said. “The expectation [is] it’s going to be a pretty warm month. “
That would also mean the country has seen record five years out of the last seven, since 2013. The hottest was 2016, when the mercury was 0.8 ° C warmer than average, Noll said.
“What the numbers show is a clear warming trend,” he said. “We have a world that is heating up that we will all have to deal with.”
MARTIN DE RUYTER / Things
Based on the temperatures of seven cities, 2020 is on track to be one of the 10 hottest years on record, according to Niwa.
Global temperatures are also on track to break records. This year will be the second or third warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization. Globally, 2016 was also the warmest year we have experienced, since measurements began.
Through the end of November, global temperatures are 1.2 ° C above the pre-industrial average, which is based on records between 1850 and 1900, and is a different comparison than Niwa’s.
This shows that the world is getting dangerously close to the 1.5 ° C warmer mark, at least by this baseline. Under the Paris Agreement, the world has committed to trying to limit global warming to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists have warned that warming above this is likely to result in more severe climate instability, more frequent weather-related disasters and a much higher risk species will go extinct.
Niwa’s chief climate scientist Andrew Tait said the new temperature data is “another reminder” that climate change is here.
“Every year there is growing evidence that our planet’s climate is changing, with increasingly serious impacts. Limiting the severity of the future impacts of climate change can only be achieved by rapidly reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and is a responsibility we all share, ”he said.
