Insurers and councils welcome better climate data

Insurers and councils welcome better climate data
Infrastructure damage in Esk Valley caused by Cyclone Gabrielle. (Image: Hawkes Bay Today)
Greg Hurrell
Improved climate projection data is now being used for tasks as mundane as choosing pipe sizes for stormwater drains. New Zealand councils, banks, insurers, and the farming sector have been calling for ever-better projections based on more fine-grained data as the world warms.A two-and-a-half-year project by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) to upgrade NZ’s climate data is a finalist in the 2025 Science NZ awards.It includes new insights on higher future rainfall and predicts Northland, for example, will...

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