Climate Change
What is Climate Change?
According to the UNFCCC (United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change), Climate Change means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods
Greenhouse effect
Greenhouse gases trap warmth from the sun and make life on Earth possible. Without the influence of the greenhouse effect on our planet, the average surface temperature would be -18°C (average temperature on Earth with the greenhouse effect is 15°C).

What causes Climate Change?
The greenhouse gas (CO2, CH4 and N2O) concentration in the atmosphere has been raising quickly since the last 150 years (since the industrial revolution) because of fossil fuels burning, deforestation, etc.
Because the global temperature is correlated to the greenhouse gas concentration, an increased greenhouse gas concentration means increased global temperatures.
Not only are temperatures rising but the whole climate is changing (increase in the extreme weather events (e.g. storm, drought), melt of the ice pack, sea level rise, ocean acidification, etc).
Climate change projections for Wairarapa
2040 | 2090 | ||
Temperature and seasonality | Average annual T°C | +0.5 to +1°C above present | +1 to +3°C above present |
Hot days (above 25°C) | Between 0 and 30 days increase | Between 0 and 80 days increase | |
Frost nights | Between 0 and 15 days reduction | Between 0 and 40 days reduction | |
Rainfall patterns and intensity | Average annual rainfall | 5% decrease to 5% increase | 10% decrease to 5% increase |
Amount of rain falling during heavy rainfall days (>99th percentile of daily rainfall) | 0% to 15% increase | 0% to 30% increase | |
Days of very high and extreme forest fire danger | 100% to 150% increase | 100% to 150% increase | |
Wind | Annual number of windy days | 0 to 6 days increase | 0 to 12 days increase |
Intensity of wind during windy days (>99th percentile of daily mean) | 0% to 3% increase | 1% to 4% increase | |
Sea level and coastal hazards | Permanent sea level rise | +0.12 m to +0.24 m above present | +0.68 m to +1.75 m above present |
Oceanic changes | Acidification of the ocean | ||
General temperature rise of sea water | |||
Marine heatwaves |
To go further:
- Climate change mapping: https://mapping1.gw.govt.nz/gw/ClimateChange/
- Sea level rise mapping: https://mapping1.gw.govt.nz/GW/SLR/
Likely impact of climate change for Wairarapa
The expected direct impacts of climate change (such as increased temperature, increased flood intensity and sea level rise) impact the communities living in Carterton and South Wairarapa District. The key impacts on the communities are:
- Impact on the environmental well-being (biodiversity losses, increased pests and rodents, increased coastal inundation…)
- Impact on the social well-being (increased risk on the human health and human life, increased pressure on drinking water quality and availability…)
- Impact on the economic well-being (reduced productivity, increased damage to properties, increased pressure on insurances and mortgages…)
- Impact on the cultural well-being (loss of cultural identity, loss of important cultural activities, loss of taonga species…)
Ruamāhanga Climate Change Strategy
- Download Ruamāhanga Climate Change Strategy, July 2020
- Download SWDC’s 2018 GHG inventory
- Download SWDC’s 2019 GHG inventory
Greenhouse gas inventories
Do you want to know your own carbon footprint?
Household calculators
https://www.futurefit.nz/
https://ekos.co.nz/lifestyle-calc
Farm carbon footprint calculator
https://www.carbonneutraltrust.org.nz/household-entry https://dotnetrest.lincoln.ac.nz/O365flowClient/cache/sites/www-content/Lincoln%20WWW/research/research/rc/aeru/carbon-calculator/CarbonCalculator.html