MEDIA RELEASE
MONDAY, JUNE 11, 2018
Fieldays weather – the worst is over before it starts
Spare a thought for Fieldays exhibitors putting the final touches to their standstomorrow – it’s going to be wet.
NIWA, the official weather forecasters for Fieldays, is predicting heavy rain at Mystery Creek tomorrow, one day ahead
of the official opening of the 50th year of the event.
Meteorologist Seth Carrier says the maximum temperature will be 16°C with winds south-southwest and then becoming
west-northwest in the afternoon and gusts of 50-60km/h.
Opening day on Wednesday will be better. Mr Carrier is forecasting partly sunny conditions with the possibility of
isolated showers. However, the total rainfall is likely to be 3mm or less and the maximum temperature 15-16°C.
Similar temperatures are expected throughout the four-day event, with the warmest day forecast for Saturday, when it
will top out at 17°C – but rain is predicted for that final day.
The best days to attend Fieldays this year are most likely to be Thursday and Fridaywhen it will be mostly sunny with
little wind.
Weather is also the theme of NIWA’s Fieldays stand at Mystery Creek this year, handily indoors in the main pavilion.
Forecasters and climate scientists will be on hand to talk to farmers about the weather and the latest climate science
developments - always an issue of keen interest in the rural community.
An inventive new tabletop game aimed to get farmers thinking about being proactive in the face of climate change will be
centre stage on the NIWA stand.
The game uses 3D-printed pieces and specially-designed play money - pitting farmers against the odds of expected
increases in extreme rainfall.
The game – called the Climate Adaptation Challenge – sees players get five rolls of a 12-sided dice. Three sides feature
“severe flood” four sides “high flood” and five sides “no event”. Each roll simulates 10 years on a farm.
Players can insure themselves against the impact of a flood dice roll by using NIWA “play money” to, for example, raise
the floor of their farmhouse. A member of NIWA’s social science team will be on-hand to give advice and support players'
decision-making.
There are two versions of the game – one for dairy, one for dry stock. A workbook, called Adapting to Climate Change,
has been put together for farmers to take home and use as they plan for climate change.
The NIWA exhibit will also enable farmers to explore expected regional climate changes where they live.
And to coincide with Fieldays, NIWA is also launching its new one-stop climate change web page which explains everything
you need to know about climate change and outlines the climate change research NIWA is undertaking.
You can find it at: www.niwa.co.nz/climate-change