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NZ Climate Impact Map — Mapping Sheet

Lesson 2: Local Climate Impacts · Activity 2 · Years 9–10

Year LevelYears 9–10
TypeMapping sheet — use with a blank A3 map of Aotearoa

You'll need a blank A3 outline map of Aotearoa (your kaiako will provide one) and coloured pencils. Colour the legend first, then find and mark each location.

He Rārangi Tohu · Map Legend

Blue — sea-level rise / coastal flooding
Red — extreme weather (cyclone, severe flood)
Orange — drought / reduced rainfall
Purple — glacier & snowpack loss
Green — ecosystem / biodiversity disruption

Ngā Wāhi · Locations to Find and Mark

  • Hawke's Bay / Heretaunga — Cyclone Gabrielle 2023 catastrophic flooding (red)
  • Gisborne / Tairāwhiti — landslides & flooding; Māori-owned land highly exposed (red)
  • Northland & Coromandel coast — coastal erosion, dune loss, king-tide flooding (blue)
  • Canterbury / Waitaha — reduced snowmelt, drought, farming stress (orange + purple)
  • Franz Josef / Fox glaciers (Te Tai Poutini) — over 3 km of retreat since 1990 (purple)
  • South Dunedin & Petone / Lower Hutt — low-lying urban areas at sea-level risk (blue)
  • Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana — marine heatwaves; seagrass & habitat loss (green)

Whakaaro · Read the Map

  • Which regions are hit by more than one impact? Which look most exposed?
  • Is anywhere in Aotearoa "safe" from climate change?
  • Who lives in the most-exposed places? Was your own rohe one of them?
Tūrangawaewae: this map isn't abstract geography — it shows whose homes and whenua are at risk. Climate change threatens the tūrangawaewae (place to stand) of real communities.

Ngā Puna · Sources (verified)

NIWA regional climate change projections for New Zealand · NZ SeaRise (Takiwā) coastal projections · Franz Josef / Fox glacier retreat: NIWA & GNS Science glacier monitoring · Cyclone Gabrielle impacts: NEMA (2023).