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Climate, rainfall and hydrology

Earth Sciences New Zealand now carries the NIWA/GNS science functions and points users to the ESNZ DataHub at data.niwa.co.nz. Historic NIWA dataset names and URLs remain common and should not be rewritten if they identify the actual data product.

Earth Sciences NZ data and applications

Monitoring versus modelled surfaces​

  • rainfall gauge = measured point/time series
  • river flow recorder = measured/modelled flow at a station
  • gridded climate raster = model/interpolation across space
  • future climate projection = scenario/model ensemble output

Keep those data types separate in legends and analysis.

LAWA water quantity​

LAWA provides region-based live river flow, rainfall and groundwater-level views, with incomplete coverage in some regions. For detailed quality-controlled series, move to the responsible council or ESNZ data source.

Catchment analysis​

Use REC2 for network/catchment framework and LiDAR terrain for local drainage screening.

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026

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