Atmosphere & Climate Data

The Southern Annular Mode (SAM) is an index that describes climate variation around the South Pole and Antarctica, as far north as New Zealand. It indicates short-term climate variations that can influence New Zealand’s climate. Such climate variations can impact on our environment, industries, and recreational activities.
The variation is caused by the movement of a low-pressure belt that generates westerly winds. During a negative phase, the low pressure belt moves north, towards the equator. In New Zealand, this can cause increased westerly winds, unsettled weather, and storm activity over most of the country. Over the southern oceans, there are relatively less westerly winds and less storm activity.
During a positive phase, the low pressure belt moves south towards Antarctica. In New Zealand, this can cause relatively light winds and more settled weather. Over the southern oceans, there is increased westerly winds and storm activity.
This dataset relates to the "Southern annular mode" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

The climate can affect ski-field operations. Warm temperatures can result in less snow or shorter ski seasons. Extreme weather events such as storms can close fields. Monitoring the season length of ski fields and the percentage of days they are closed may indicate the extent of any effects of climate change. We assessed the season length and percentage of days closed for three South Island ski fields from 2003 to 2014.
This dataset relates to the "Ski-field operating days" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Ozone protects the Earth from harmful levels of UV radiation. The ozone hole is an area of reduced stratospheric ozone that forms over Antarctica each spring, due to ozone-depleting substance. Reporting on the state of the ozone hole provides important context for the state of ozone concentrations globally.
This dataset relates to the "Ozone hole" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Extreme weather events are weather events that are rare or even statistically unlikely. In New Zealand, such events can be dangerous and costly, both socially and monetarily. They can cause damage that affects productivity and leads to millions of dollars in insurance claims.
This dataset relates to the "Insurance losses for extreme weather events" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.

Our greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are small compared with those of other developed nations, but we have committed to being part of the global response to climate change. New Zealand's greenhouse gas inventory is an annual report on all of the country’s human-induced GHG emissions and removals of GHG emissions. The inventory is produced as part of our obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol.
Some GHG emissions are removed, primarily by forests. Net emissions represent the total amount of gas contributed to the atmosphere but gross emmissions are also provided for New Zealand.
This dataset relates to the "New Zealand's greenhouse gas emissions" measure on the Environmental Indicators, Te taiao Aotearoa website.