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Report: New Zealand’s Seas Warming Faster Than Global Average 

Scientists have found the oceans around New Zealand are warming, rising, and turning more acidic. (AFP)
Scientists have found the oceans around New Zealand are warming, rising, and turning more acidic. (AFP)
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Report: New Zealand’s Seas Warming Faster Than Global Average 

Scientists have found the oceans around New Zealand are warming, rising, and turning more acidic. (AFP)
Scientists have found the oceans around New Zealand are warming, rising, and turning more acidic. (AFP)

The seas around New Zealand are warming much faster than global averages, scientists said Wednesday in a new study warning how climate change could batter the island nation.

The government study found New Zealand's oceans are growing hotter, turning more acidic and already threatening thousands of coastal homes as sea levels rise.

The waters lapping New Zealand are now warming 34 percent faster than global averages, according to the Our Marine Environment report.

"Climate change is driving significant changes in our oceans," the report said.

"Ocean temperatures are increasing, and marine heatwaves are becoming more frequent, intense and longer-lasting.

"Sea-level rise is accelerating at many locations."

Researchers have linked global warming to disruptions in the vast oceanic currents that swirl between New Zealand and Antarctica.

New Zealand's proximity to these currents, as well as other changes in atmospheric circulation, helped to explain why these seas were warming so quickly.

Department of Conservation marine advisor Shane Geange said the report showed how "climate change is making existing problems in our oceans even worse".

"For example, global warming has made New Zealand's sea temperatures rise much faster than the worldwide average.

"This means we're seeing more frequent and severe marine heatwaves. Sea levels (are) rising more quickly, and our oceans are becoming more acidic and losing oxygen."

Sea-surface temperatures at four sites around New Zealand rose, on average, between 0.16C and 0.26C per decade between 1982 and 2023.

Many native species were struggling to adapt to life in warmer and more acidic oceans, the study found, and risked being overrun by invasive pests.

Warmer-than-normal sea temperatures have previously been linked to deaths of New Zealand's native yellow-eyed penguins.

"Because of these findings, how we manage New Zealand's marine environment needs to change," said Geange.

"We now have enough evidence to take action, and delaying risks further harms to our marine ecosystems."

Steadily rising sea levels were already being felt in many of New Zealand's low-lying coastal hamlets, the report found.

More than 200,000 homes worth US$100 billion (NZ$180 billion) were found in areas at risk of coastal inundation and inland flooding.

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Reintroduction of Wildlife Species at Saudi Arabia’s Hegra Reserve to Enhance Ecological Balance

The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.
The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.
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Reintroduction of Wildlife Species at Saudi Arabia’s Hegra Reserve to Enhance Ecological Balance

The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.
The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU), in cooperation with the National Center for Wildlife, has reintroduced 37 wildlife species at the Hegra Nature Reserve in AlUla as part of its efforts to enhance ecological balance and preserve the region's natural biodiversity.

The initiative forms part of RCU's strategy to rehabilitate wildlife and achieve environmental sustainability.

It also supports eco-tourism by increasing the presence of wildlife species and enriching visitors' natural experiences, in line with AlUla's vision to develop its natural resources and strengthen its environmental values.

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WHO Reaffirms No Link between Vaccines and Autism

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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WHO Reaffirms No Link between Vaccines and Autism

The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
The logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, January 28, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

The World Health Organization's vaccine safety committee said on Thursday that new reviews of scientific evidence found no link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder, reaffirming conclusions reached more than two decades ago.

The WHO Global Advisory Committee on Vaccine Safety assessed two systematic reviews covering studies published between 2010 and August 2025, according to Reuters.

The reviews examined vaccines in general and those containing thiomersal, a mercury-based preservative that has long been accused by critics of contributing to autism - a claim repeatedly dismissed by scientific studies.

A causal link between vaccines and health outcomes is considered only when several high-quality studies consistently show a statistical association, the committee said.

Twenty out of 31 studies found no evidence of an association between vaccines and autism, according to the WHO.

Eleven studies that suggested a possible link were deemed to have major methodological flaws and a high risk of bias, the committee said.

Last month, US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in an interview with the New York Times that he had personally instructed the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change its long-standing position that vaccines do not cause autism.

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Vietnam's Capital Chokes Through Week of Toxic Smog

This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
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Vietnam's Capital Chokes Through Week of Toxic Smog

This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)
This picture shows vehicles driving on a highway amid heavy air pollution conditions in Hanoi on December 11, 2025. (Photo by NHAC NGUYEN / AFP)

Toxic smog has blanketed Vietnam's capital for more than a week, blotting out the skyline and leaving residents wheezing as Hanoi's air quality dipped to among the world's worst on Thursday.

The city of nine million ranked second only to India's New Delhi on IQAir's ranking of most polluted cities on Thursday morning, improving slightly in the afternoon.

According to the Swiss monitoring company, levels of PM2.5 pollutants -- cancer-causing microparticles small enough to enter the bloodstream through the lungs -- were vastly higher than the World Health Organization's recommended daily exposure limit.

"I have experienced difficulty in breathing out on the streets these days," resident Dang Thuy told AFP on Thursday, adding she had bought two new air purifiers for her apartment.

Hanoi authorities, in an administrative order made public Thursday, urged people to limit time outdoors and said schools can close if the situation deteriorates.

The order instructed officials to crack down on illegal waste burning and take measures to control the dispersion of dust at construction sites, including covering trucks and spraying water to keep tiny particles from becoming airborne.

However, AFP reporters observed construction sites operating normally, with trucks arriving and departing without the required coverings.

"Authorities have been quite active on paper only. Nothing has worked yet and the terribly toxic air remains in our city," said Thuy.

According to the WHO, a number of serious health conditions, including strokes, heart disease and lung cancer, are linked to air pollution exposure.

Experts say pollution in Hanoi is a result of widespread construction, as well as emissions from the huge number of motorbikes and cars that criss-cross the capital every day.

Emissions from coal plants to the north and agricultural burning exacerbate the problem.

Authorities have announced plans to ban gas motorbikes from central Hanoi during certain hours starting in July next year.