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Under The Weather: A future forecast for New Zealand
The must-read book on what New Zealand's changing climate means for our everyday lives
A warmer world will change more than just our weather patterns. It will change the look of the land around us, what grows and lives on it - including us.
In this must-read book, Professor James Renwick untangles how we know what the future holds and why it matters to our everyday lives. He looks at New Zealand's increasingly frequent natural disasters, warming and acidifying waters, the creep of rising sea levels, and the ways that the changing weather will affect our agriculture, lifestyle, food security and economy.
Under the Weather is a picture of a planet in danger, a reality-check on what that means for this country, and a reminder that the shape of our future is up to us.
A warmer world will change more than just our weather patterns. It will change the look of the land around us, what grows and lives on it - including us.
In this must-read book, Professor James Renwick untangles how we know what the future holds and why it matters to our everyday lives. He looks at New Zealand's increasingly frequent natural disasters, warming and acidifying waters, the creep of rising sea levels, and the ways that the changing weather will affect our agriculture, lifestyle, food security and economy.
Under the Weather is a picture of a planet in danger, a reality-check on what that means for this country, and a reminder that the shape of our future is up to us.
- GenresNonfictionScience
222 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 7, 2023
7 people are currently reading
66 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 22, 2024
Finally, a climate expert who knows how to communicate complex scientific information about New Zealand's perilous situation with reason.
Witten in a relatively large font with wide line spacing and published during 2023 it is an antidote to misinformation.
Renwick is hopeful that 1.5 degrees is achievable.
This is misleading.
The earth passed 1.5 degrees somewhere around 2019 to 2024. Even to a layman the evidence was obvious years prior.
The title is also misleading.
This is a book about climate. The distinction between weather and climate needs to be made. The warming climate is not part of a "future forecast". Our climate models are in uncharted territory. There are only forecasts of instability and chaos.
What is happening here? Renwick are you trying not to scare the horses? Why? Are you afraid of fear? Is your underlying assumption that people should draw their own conclusions from the evidence outlined?
New Zealand, and everywhere, is in a climate crisis. Now. We have been for decades. Many cities have declared it.
NZ has been spending many millions restoring climate change damage. For decades.
The climate impacts by and on our primary industries and growing population are well known.
How we can reduce impacts are also well known.
Renwick has been an IPPC rep for quite some time. He has enviable access to expertise and resources.
We all need a shot of courage.
We are all implicit in a shared "she'll be right" fantasy.
We have overshot our natural capital. Where do we need to be at? 2 million people? 30000 cows? 2 million ha pines? 50000 tonnes of fish? $10 a litre of petrol? 3 million hectares of restored catchments planted in native forest and protected? 50% of the coastline in marine reserves?
Please write another book and tell it how it really is.
Make it a lot shorter so that schools and universities will buy it.
Put your formidible skills into a climate curricula. Make it compulsory for all undergraduates.
Let us all hope for a better disaster than the current fast track we are clearly on.
Witten in a relatively large font with wide line spacing and published during 2023 it is an antidote to misinformation.
Renwick is hopeful that 1.5 degrees is achievable.
This is misleading.
The earth passed 1.5 degrees somewhere around 2019 to 2024. Even to a layman the evidence was obvious years prior.
The title is also misleading.
This is a book about climate. The distinction between weather and climate needs to be made. The warming climate is not part of a "future forecast". Our climate models are in uncharted territory. There are only forecasts of instability and chaos.
What is happening here? Renwick are you trying not to scare the horses? Why? Are you afraid of fear? Is your underlying assumption that people should draw their own conclusions from the evidence outlined?
New Zealand, and everywhere, is in a climate crisis. Now. We have been for decades. Many cities have declared it.
NZ has been spending many millions restoring climate change damage. For decades.
The climate impacts by and on our primary industries and growing population are well known.
How we can reduce impacts are also well known.
Renwick has been an IPPC rep for quite some time. He has enviable access to expertise and resources.
We all need a shot of courage.
We are all implicit in a shared "she'll be right" fantasy.
We have overshot our natural capital. Where do we need to be at? 2 million people? 30000 cows? 2 million ha pines? 50000 tonnes of fish? $10 a litre of petrol? 3 million hectares of restored catchments planted in native forest and protected? 50% of the coastline in marine reserves?
Please write another book and tell it how it really is.
Make it a lot shorter so that schools and universities will buy it.
Put your formidible skills into a climate curricula. Make it compulsory for all undergraduates.
Let us all hope for a better disaster than the current fast track we are clearly on.
June 21, 2023
Dr James Renwick provides a thorough, understandable, engaging and compelling overview of climate change and society’s necessary response. The book is divided into four parts: The Global, The Local, The Forecast and Where to from here? The author’s perspective is mostly New Zealand, but he puts it in Pacific and global contexts. The writing style is clear, easily read and engaging, at times conversational. He neither lectures nor patronizes the reader. The book is right up-to-date, including reference to Cyclone Gabrielle. Although I know about this subject, I learnt much from the book.
Dr Renwick is very well qualified to write on this subject as he has studied weather and climate his whole career in New Zealand and contributed to policy advice at the highest levels. He has won a national award for communication and rightly so, as this book attests. He also puts himself into the story lightly, which makes it more human, approachable and compelling when he issues his call to arms.
I find climate change is like a ball of knotted wool, with many threads joined together such that pulling one tugs on the others. The author navigates this complexity, explaining how the threads are linked. This leads to some repetition when he turns the ball and looks at it from different angles. His challenge with such a complex topic has been what to leave out, and the book leaves me wanting more on some topics such as climate responses under way overseas and the impacts of deforestation and reafforestation.
Positive features of the book
1. The book addresses a very topical, important and challenging need for discussion and action.
2. It is well written by an experienced communicator who conveys his authority and authenticity.
3. It is informative and thought-provoking and avoids being didactic.
4. The New Zealand focus in a regional and global context makes it appealing for an NZ audience.
5. At 300 pages the length is manageable.
Negative features of the book
1. As mentioned above, there is some repetitiveness, especially in his climate forecasting and opportunities for action in New Zealand.
2. Also as mentioned above, there are some topics on which the reader will want more, but he includes a list of resources for further information.
3. The researcher-reader may want to see claims referenced from the scientific literature, but that will be a small minority of readers.
I am grateful to the New Zealand Book Discussion Scheme for providing my review copy.
Dr Renwick is very well qualified to write on this subject as he has studied weather and climate his whole career in New Zealand and contributed to policy advice at the highest levels. He has won a national award for communication and rightly so, as this book attests. He also puts himself into the story lightly, which makes it more human, approachable and compelling when he issues his call to arms.
I find climate change is like a ball of knotted wool, with many threads joined together such that pulling one tugs on the others. The author navigates this complexity, explaining how the threads are linked. This leads to some repetition when he turns the ball and looks at it from different angles. His challenge with such a complex topic has been what to leave out, and the book leaves me wanting more on some topics such as climate responses under way overseas and the impacts of deforestation and reafforestation.
Positive features of the book
1. The book addresses a very topical, important and challenging need for discussion and action.
2. It is well written by an experienced communicator who conveys his authority and authenticity.
3. It is informative and thought-provoking and avoids being didactic.
4. The New Zealand focus in a regional and global context makes it appealing for an NZ audience.
5. At 300 pages the length is manageable.
Negative features of the book
1. As mentioned above, there is some repetitiveness, especially in his climate forecasting and opportunities for action in New Zealand.
2. Also as mentioned above, there are some topics on which the reader will want more, but he includes a list of resources for further information.
3. The researcher-reader may want to see claims referenced from the scientific literature, but that will be a small minority of readers.
I am grateful to the New Zealand Book Discussion Scheme for providing my review copy.
August 7, 2023
A great insight into what's in store for the world with a New Zealand flavour. It's concerning just how complacent the world has become to climate change. Nearly every day the news has reports of environmental disasters occuring around the world but we have become "immune" to the evidence in front of us and, as James notes, we think "Same old same old". I'm probably more pessimistic than James is and fear we won't manage limiting warming to 1.5 degrees. It's like a large tanker heading towards an iceberg and even if we slam the ship into full reverse, it's too late. All we are doing now is blowing into the wind! I hope I'm wrong, but as I survey ponds and lakes in NZ, warmer waters are allowing pest plants and animals to become a serious problem. I probably won't be around to see the worst of climate change, but wonder what we are leaving for our children to deal with because of our inaction.
February 3, 2024
This book starts by explaining the science of global warming and climate change in simple clear language. It then goes on to explain the range of possible consequences and what needs to be done to avoid the worst of them. For a book that consistently advocates for urgent action it is understated and avoids preaching.
November 2, 2023
An easy to read book on climate change with emphasis on NZ. Nothing new to me. Being saying a lot of it since 1970s. But good book for younger generation to read and learn. Should be compulsory in schools.
May 24, 2024
Such an important book!
October 31, 2025
So important. Accessible and so easy to read despite being full of facts, level-headed tone but still compelling without being browbeating.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews