Ngā tūraru torohū ki Tāmaki Makaurau

The potential risks to Auckland

​Our research

To mitigate and adapt to climate change, and to inform planning and decision-making, we must understand the climate change risks and impacts on our ecosystems, people, and economy.

To support this, Auckland Council produced a Climate Change Risk Assessment technical report series.

This research is underpinned by the Auckland Region climate change projections and impacts research (PDF 31.1MB) undertaken by the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Pearce et al., 2018.

The Climate Change Risk Assessment technical report series (PDF 1.4 MB) used the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change methodology 2014 (PDF 8.7 MB) to assess impacts on people, the environment and infrastructure. It identifies the parts of Auckland most susceptible to impacts of climate change and the associated social and environmental vulnerability.

The research specifically covers:

  • health effects of extreme heat
  • climate change, air quality and health impacts
  • creating conditions for disease vectors
  • social vulnerability
  • climate change impacts and risks for terrestrial ecosystems
  • climate change impacts and risks for marine and freshwater ecosystems
  • effects of coastal inundation and sea level rise on Auckland.

The following infographic summarises some climate impacts on the Auckland region.

The technical report series will be expanded and built on as new data and other resources become available.

Our eight priorities have been informed by the risks identified in these reports and expert input from across Auckland.

Climate change and natural hazards

Details on Auckland’s natural hazard risks and the actions Auckland Council will continue to take to mitigate the impact will be part of the Natural Hazard Risk Management Action Plan once it is finalised.

Find out more about Natural hazards and climate change.