Hottest year on record for Zealandia prompts call to action from climate scientists – Climate Club

Aotearoa New Zealand has seen record high temperatures across many regions over the last week. This is not an isolated weather incident. In 2025 New Zealand’s overall combined land and sea temperatures were the hottest ever measured.

The data comes from a new report released by Dr Jim Salinger with Climate Club New Zealand’s Science Panel which considers temperature observations across Zealandia Te Riu-a-Māui.

The report highlights that 2025 recorded the highest average temperature in 151 years of continuous monitoring. All five of New Zealand’s hottest years have occurred since 2018.

“These aren’t just numbers on a page,” says Dr Salinger. “This is the story of how our climate is changing, written in one of the longest and most reliable temperature datasets in the Southern Hemisphere. What we’re seeing is an acceleration – the warming is speeding up, not slowing down.”

In response to the findings, three of Aotearoa’s leading independent climate scientists are issuing a nationwide challenge: as we head back to work and school this month, swap one car trip a week.

Transport accounts for 18.5% of Aotearoa’s gross emissions. Replacing one out of every 5 car trips with active transport is estimated to save 1.3 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, equal to the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of Fiji.

The nationwide challenge is issued by the Climate Club Science Panel, as part of their work to translate climate science into actionable guidance for New Zealanders.

“We hear from people all the time who feel overwhelmed and anxious, especially in the midst of heatwaves and news of the Australian bushfires,” says Emily Mabin Sutton, Chief Executive at Climate Club NZ.

“But doing nothing guarantees the warming continues. Taking just one action feels doable, and is how we move from anxiety to agency. And these small actions, when millions of us do them, create real change.”

New Zealanders can sign up to the Challenge at https://climateclub.nz/challenge. A simple process for encouraging workplaces and Councils to improve access to active and public transport is also available.
Resources

The full technical report, “New Zealand Temperature Tracker 2025”, is available at:
https://climateclub.nz/reports/new-zealand-temperature-tracker-2025/.

Sign up to the Challenge at https://climateclub.nz/challenge/your-challenge-swap-one-car-trip-a-week-as-we-head-back-to-work-and-school/?campaign-id=2