Environmental Health Indicators

AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND'S ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH: 2025

The major issues identified in EHINZ’s environmental health surveillance during 2024-25.

This table can also be downloaded as a PDF document

	CLIMATE CHANGE	AIR QUALITY	WATER QUALITY	INDOOR ENVIRONMENT
ENVIRONMENTAL INDICATORS (What has changed)	Most years since 2010 had more hot and fewer cold days compared to the baseline. Extreme rainfall in 2022 affected the same regions as Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023.	WHO air quality guidelines were exceeded at most stations monitoring NO₂ and PM_2.5 in 2020.	The percentage of New Zealanders with access to registered and/or fluoridated drinking water supplies remained the same between 2010 and 2024.	Maternal smoking decreased over the past decade, with Māori rates down by 12 percentage points. Exposure to second-hand smoke among children and adults decreased in 2023/24.
EFFECTS ON HEALTH INDICATORS	Changes to climate may increase: Extreme weather events Gastrointestinal diseases New exotic mosquitos establishing Expansion of established mosquitos Recent extreme weather affected the northern and central North Island, especially Northland, Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne and Hawke’s Bay.	3,300 deaths were associated with human-made concentrations of NO₂ and PM_2.5 in 2016, with 2,227 linked to vehicles. The light vehicle fleet is growing and ageing, with 4.7 million in 2023. New Zealand has 25 PM_2.5 and 12 NO₂ monitoring stations. Few stations monitor CO and SO₂. National reporting is limited by this sparse spatial coverage.	About 78% of New Zealanders on registered drinking-water supplies had access to water meeting all safety requirements. All monitored freshwater bathing sites in Gisborne were rated ‘poor’ from 2019 to 2024. Taranaki had the highest proportion of unsafe beaches—12 of 18 rated ‘poor’.	Health conditions related to poor indoor environments show extensive inequities for children. This domain consistently shows the most significant inequities within EHINZ. Occupational lead absorption notifications are high for Pacific peoples, males, and those in more deprived areas.
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND INEQUITIES (The most affected)	Climate change impacts fall most heavily on socially vulnerable groups: children, elderly, and those of lower socioeconomic status or minority ethnicity.	Māori, Pacific, and children in deprived areas have the highest asthma medication and hospitalisation rates. Asthma in children has been linked to NO₂ exposure.	People in rural and small communities were less likely to have drinking water that met national safety standards.	Māori and Pacific children, and those in deprived areas, had higher hospitalisations for asthma and LRTI, and higher notifications for SUDI and meningococcal disease.
ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH DATA	EHINZ does not collect data but analyses and interprets information from other agencies. Our surveillance is hampered by delays and limited access to high-quality data.