Photo: Niwa
Forecasters are exploring whether they can use AI to help predict the impacts of extreme weather, right down to a street level.
Following Cyclone Gabrielle, NIWA has added five million dollars a year in funding for extreme weather research.
It's being pumped into several projects that are producing models, showing which properties or infrastructure could be at risk from things like storms, droughts and heatwaves.
Climate scientist Nava Fedaeff is spearheading one such project, pulling together a range of data to forecast exactly where any potential slips or flooding may hit.
Meteorologist Ben Noll says his team has already been briefing key agencies and authorities, about areas at risk of drought or fire that El Niño may deliver in the months ahead.
