Meteorological Service of New Zealand

The Meteorological Service of New Zealand Limited, operating under the trading name MetService (Māori: Te Ratonga Tirorangi, meaning 'sky-looking service'), is the national meteorological service of New Zealand. Headquartered in Wellington, the organization employs approximately 300 staff members and functions as New Zealand's official weather forecasting authority, issuing official weather warnings on behalf of the Ministry of Transport.

International commercial media, aviation, and energy services are delivered globally through its subsidiary brand, MetraWeather.

History

Formal weather forecasting in New Zealand originated in August 1861 following a series of shipwrecks that prompted the colonial government to establish a storm warning service under the Marine Department. For decades, meteorological services remained closely tied to maritime administration.

In 1926, the forecasting service transitioned to the newly formed Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. Edward Kidson was appointed Dominion Meteorologist in 1927 by Ernest Marsden, overseeing an initial team of five staff members. With the onset of World War II in 1939, meteorological operations were integrated into the Royal New Zealand Air Force. The service subsequently shifted to the Department of Civil Aviation in 1964, which became part of the Ministry of Transport in 1968.

During the 1980s, budget adjustments and public sector reforms encouraged deregulation and commercialization of specialized government functions. This led to the formal establishment of MetService as a state-owned enterprise on 1 July 1992.

Relationship with NIWA and Restructuring

Upon the creation of MetService in 1992, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) was spun off as a separate Crown entity focused on climate research and long-term weather patterns. Over the following decades, the two organizations maintained distinct operational roles while occasionally experiencing institutional friction regarding forecasting methodologies and market competition.

Following government reviews, including recommendations by the Sapere research group following extreme weather events in 2023, plans were initiated to integrate forecasting capabilities. In September 2024, Minister for Science, Innovation and Technology Judith Collins announced that NIWA would acquire MetService to unify weather information delivery. In May 2024, it was further announced that both entities would be integrated into the newly established New Zealand Institute for Earth Science.

International Cooperation

As the national meteorological service, MetService collaborates with international partners under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized agency of the United Nations. As part of the WMO World Weather Watch, MetService transmits regional meteorological observational data to international member countries to support global numerical weather prediction models.