Why do so many New Zealand communities lie in flood zones? An expert explains.

New Zealand was a decade behind countries like the UK.

COMMENT: Figures released last month by Niwa show that 2016 was the hottest year on record for New Zealand, with record or near-record breaking temperatures for many locations, writes Adelia Hallett.

Rain is one the way at last for some of the driest parts of New Zealand.

Farmers needed serious rain - up to 100mm - but there was none on the horizon and soil moisture levels across Northland were extremely low.

COMMENT: Storms, high winds, heavy rain and even ice... What has happened to summer and will it improve. WeatherWatch head analyst Phil Duncan explains.

Climate change scientists have projected continued global greenhouse gas emissions would heat Northland heat up more than other regions

Dr Brett Mullan of the National Institute of Water and Atmosphere (NIWA) explains our holiday season weather and warming world.

El Nino is technically past its peak, but the true impact of the weather pattern looks likely to play out over the next few months.

This year's El Nino weather pattern is shaping up to be one of the strongest, if not the strongest, on record - bringing with it an elevated risk of drought.

Support for the drought-affected eastern South Island has been extended, and an extra $100,000 has been granted to help struggling farmers.

The controversial $275 million Ruataniwha water storage scheme in Hawkes Bay is a step closer after the High Court said no appeals had been lodged in the consent process.

People have embraced the taste of almond products. The question now is whether they can stomach higher costs.

Weather patterns suggest NZ could be in for another horror El Nino like that of 1997 and 1998, which resulted in a severe drought costing the country millions.

Farmers with rights to California water dating back more than a century face sharp cutbacks, the first reduction in their water use since 1977.

Lawmakers and activists say a company shouldn't be allowed to profit from water as drought spreads across Oregon.

Major El Nino events, which typically create extreme weather conditions, immediately sap New Zealand's economic growth and put downward pressure on inflation.

Drought conditions are biting into California's dairy production, which could end up being supportive for international dairy prices, say analysts.

In LA, where residents use an average of 265 litres of water a day, an academic study found that the most affluent neighbourhoods used up to three times more than others.

It takes a gallon (3.785 litres) of water to produce an almond, and almond growers use about 10 per cent of California's water supply every year.

California is faced with a double whammy of high temperatures and low rainfall exacerbated by an atmospheric pattern that for three years straight has diverted winter storms away.

Cyclone Pam has come with a silver lining for many farmers, bringing much-needed rain to most parts of the North Island.

Growing global market opportunities and the need to strengthen supply chains are creating a thirst for capital among agricultural co-operatives around the world, rural lending specialist Rabobank said.

Drought in much of the country is helping to drive dairy prices higher, but farmgate prices for beef and sheepmeat are weakening.

Drought throughout much of the South Island and dry conditions in parts of the North look set to add urgency to water storage and irrigation schemes.

Rain forecast for this week is unlikely to offset a soil-parching big dry that has put much of the country at serious fire risk and begun to hurt farmers in hot-spot areas.

The Government has no immediate plans to declare drought in areas of the country suffering from extremely dry conditions.

Taps ran dry in Martinborough last Friday after water reservoirs ran out and an alarm supposed to alert the council when supply is low, failed to go off.

This winter was not a good one for farmers in the Fertile Crescent.

Farmers in the Waikato and parts of Northland say they are battling one of the driest summers in memory.