Rate of sea level rise around New Zealand doubles in past 60 years
Climate change named as major driver, with up to $14bn in infrastructure at risk from higher sea levels
Sea levels around New Zealand rose twice as fast in the past 60 years as they did in the first half of last century, with climate change flagged as the primary culprit.
Stats NZ’s recently updated coastal sea level rise indicator shows the rate doubled between 1961 and 2020, compared with the mean rate from 1901-1960, at three of the four sites monitored – Wellington, Lyttelton and Dunedin.