Waters around New Zealand’s South Island are as much as 6 degrees Celsius (42.8 degrees Fahrenheit) 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 that waters around the southern South Island were all well above normal for this time of year with temperatures in Fiordland 6 degrees warmer than normal.
The Moana Project said that water temperatures on the West Coast of the South Island are currently 4 degrees above average.
