New Zealand’s oceans warming 34% faster than global average, threatening economy

By Asiye Latife Yilmaz

ISTANBUL (AA) - New Zealand’s oceans are warming 34% faster than the global average, threatening damage of 180 billion local dollars (about $104 billion) to housing through flooding, the country’s Environment Ministry said on Wednesday.

The ministry and Stats NZ’s latest report, Our Marine Environment 2025, warned that New Zealand’s oceans and coasts face worsening warming, rising seas, stronger marine heat waves, and increasing acidification due to global heating.

The report highlighted multiple risks from marine changes, including threats to indigenous species, coastal flooding, stronger storms, and significant impacts on communities and the economy.

New Zealand’s location makes it especially vulnerable to climate change, with its sea surface temperatures rising 0.16–0.26°C per decade between 1982 and 2023 – 34% faster than the global average – as its coastal waters warming rapidly from heat absorbed by the world’s oceans.

The report also noted that 219,000 homes worth NZ$180 billion and over NZ$26 billion in infrastructure lie in flood-prone zones, with some 1,300 coastal homes at high risk from extreme weather damage.

Ocean warming and acidification are harming New Zealand’s $1.1 billion fishing and aquaculture sector and fueling toxic algae blooms in shellfish, while marine heat waves grow stronger, longer, and more frequent.

New Zealand has faced unprecedented marine heat waves, causing mass sea sponge bleaching, bull kelp die‑offs, fish strandings, and penguin deaths, with the report stressing the need for expanded research to improve climate resilience and sustainability.