A desperate man managed to send two text messages to his partner after his boat sank, but they were dismissed as a joke.

New Zealand's booming geothermal industry will now be backed by a multimillion-dollar research facility described as one of the most advanced of its kind.

The National Policy Statement (NPS) for freshwater may not have razzmatazz, but it arose from that exercise in consensual collaboration called the Land and Water Forum.

The world is running out of water. Demand has grown a staggering 60 per cent every decade for the past 50 years.

A small sinkhole has opened up in central Wellington after a water main burst early today.

The release of the first tranche of the Green Party's environmental policy contained one sentiment certain to resonate with all New Zealanders.

Kayaker Scott Donaldson has been struck a blow in his bid to recover his stricken vessel after it separated from its locator beacon.

The Green Party has dismissed the new bottom lines as "weak" and argues the measures mean rivers will only have to be clean enough for wading or boating.

Global warming is melting sea ice so fast that more than half of Antarctica's population of emperor penguins are set to be wiped out by the end of the century, according to alarming new research saying they should be listed as an endangered species.

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

If you're in a hurry to meet your maker, a religious pilgrimage may be the most direct route.

A grey 6.6m Comsub, which the owner says has been used to explore waters near Half Moon Bay and Waiheke Island for the past few years, is for sale.

The chances of an El Nino playing with our weather this summer have become more likely, according to a just-released report from the World Meteorological Organisation.

Despite being warned to "hunker down" by weather analyst Bob McDavitt while a front passes over tonight, Mr Donaldson was in good spirits, Mr Funnell said.

Scientists are searching in an unlikely place for the next big breakthrough - New Zealand's postcard hot springs.

Not long after the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370 was declared missing, the world's attention was focused on a remote, poorly known area of the Eastern Indian Ocean as the possible location of the lost aircraft.

Tens of thousands of Kiwis drink water that fails to meet quality or monitoring standards, prompting calls for better investment in New Zealand's smaller supplies.

More than 100 insurance claims have already been lodged with AA Insurance today for damages to roofs, windows and fences from the overnight storm.

A 4WD track featuring steep slopes, a waterfall, boulders and pools of water is one of the attractions at this year's National Fieldays in Hamilton.

When Marlborough Boys' College head boy Angus Pauley saw a young girl being swept away by a flooded Blenheim river this morning, he knew what he had to do.

A kayaker who capsized in wild Northland weather last night was embarking on his usual 10-minute commute home from work.

Elderly dementia patients have been evacuated from their Canterbury rest home after it was flooded overnight in a torrential rainstorm.

Scientists are being told to use art and poetry to win public support in the battle to curb climate change.

"Sea," said King Canute, the 11th-century Danish King of England, "I command you to come no further!"