Live Q&A: Is extreme weather the new normal in NZ? Our experts explain

Kiwis - at least those of us in the north - were already grumpy about the weather in late January. Many of us got off work just in time to watch the sun disappear for the duration of our summer holidays. For weeks, tents were wet, washing was damp, tempers were frayed.

Then it got worse. A surprise deluge on January 27 caused millions of dollars’ worth of damage in Auckland. A fortnight later, Cyclone Gabrielle slammed into the North Island, bringing death and destruction to communities up and down the east coast.

Meanwhile, at the other end of Aotearoa, the sun outstayed its welcome. Widespread dryness affected most of the South Island, to the extent that Otago and Southland could be in drought by summer’s end.

Severe weather isn’t new - but the scale and frequency of this bout seems unusual. Is it? What happens next? And how do we respond? We asked two experts - science reporter Jamie Morton and Dr Nathanael Melia, director and principal scientist at consultancy Climate Prescience - to explain. They’ll be online and tackling your weather-related questions from 9.45am.

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