Countries · New Zealand

Climate change in New Zealand

+1.3°C since 1951–1980

New Zealand has warmed 1.3 °C on average, about as fast as the world as a whole (+1.1 °C over the same period).

Further warming by 2040–2059
+0.9°C
vs 1995–2014, SSP2-4.5 · high emissions +1.3 °C
CO₂ per person (2024)
6.2t
world average 4.7 t · #21 of 60 countries here
Share of global CO₂
0.1%
0.1% of all CO₂ emitted since 1750

New Zealand: national average temperature, 1950–2025 (°C)

91011°C1960198020002020
Copernicus ERA5, area-weighted national average, via World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal.

1950 → 2025. New Zealand's warming stripes.

New Zealand's CO₂ emissions

New Zealand: annual CO₂ emissions from fossil fuels and industry (million tonnes)

010203040Mt1960198020002020
Global Carbon Budget via Our World in Data. Territorial emissions; excludes land use.

Cities in New Zealand

Auckland
+1.0°C
since 1951–1980 · in 2050 like Montevideo

Frequently asked questions

How much has New Zealand warmed?

Averaged over the whole country, the last ten years (2016–2025) were 1.3 °C warmer than 1951–1980 according to Copernicus ERA5 — about as fast as the global average of 1.1 °C over the same period. Land areas warm faster than the oceans, so most countries warm faster than the global figure.

How much warmer will New Zealand be in 2050?

Climate models project New Zealand to be about 0.9 °C warmer in 2040–2059 than in 1995–2014 under an intermediate scenario (SSP2-4.5; model range 0.6–1.4 °C), and 1.3 °C under very high emissions (SSP5-8.5).

How much CO₂ does New Zealand emit?

New Zealand emitted 32 million tonnes of CO₂ from fossil fuels and industry in 2024, 0.1% of the global total, or 6.2 tonnes per person — 1.3 times the world average. Historically it has emitted 0.1% of all CO₂ since 1750.

Sources: World Bank Climate Change Knowledge Portal; Our World in Data – CO₂ and Greenhouse Gas Emissions (Global Carbon Project)

Licence: Temperature: ERA5 (CC BY 4.0) and CMIP6 (CC BY-SA 4.0) via World Bank CCKP. Emissions: Our World in Data, CC BY 4.0 (Global Carbon Budget). · Generated 17 October 2026 · Methodology