Schoolchildren protest during a strike and protest by students highlighting inadequate progress to address climate change at Parliament grounds in Wellington, New Zealand, March 15, 2019. (PHOTO / AFP)

WELLINGTON – Eight out of the 10 warmest years ever recorded in New Zealand up to 2022 have been within the last decade, the statistics department, Stats NZ, said on Wednesday.

"Average annual temperatures have increased nationwide in the last century and 2022 was the warmest year on record," said Stuart Jones, Stats NZ's senior manager of environment and agricultural statistics.

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Data collected over the last 114 years from sites across New Zealand show long-term changes in climate, with the trend of temperatures increasing, Jones said.

New Zealand's annual average temperature rose by 1.26 degrees Celsius between 1909 and 2022, he said.

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The average annual temperatures at each of the 30 sites monitored around the country had increased between 1972 and 2022. 

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These trends were reflected by seasons too, with each site recording warmer winters, and 28 out of the 30 sites experiencing warmer summers and autumns, Jones said.

In this March 15, 2019 photo, schoolchildren protest at Civic Square during a strike and protest by students highlighting inadequate progress to address climate change at Civic Square in Wellington, New Zealand. (PHOTO/ AFP)

These trends are consistent with global trends of average temperatures, which have increased by about 1 degree Celsius over the last century. Rising temperatures can have a significant effect on agriculture, energy demand, ecosystems, and recreation, he said.

Stats NZ updated its temperature environmental indicator showing national average temperatures between 1909 and 2022, based on the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research's seven-station temperature series.