The waters around New Zealand’s South Island are as much as 6 °C (42.8 °F) warmer than normal due to climate change, the weather phenomenon La Nina and a series of high pressure systems, according to scientists.
Metservice oceanographer Joao de Souza, who is part of the Moana project, said waters around the southern South Island were well above normal for this time of year, with temperatures in Fiordland six degrees warmer than normal.
The Moana Project said water temperatures on the west coast of the South Island are currently 4 degrees above average.
These temperatures are going to have important consequences for ecosystems that are built or adapted to cold water, he said.
“There are always winners and losers,” he said, with those marine species that cannot relocate being more likely to be affected.