Sunny, with a risk of fire

From today, people across Aotearoa will be able to check the fire danger in their area while getting their weather forecast for the day.

This is a result of a new partnership with MetService, New Zealand’s National weather authority and go-to for accurate weather information.

Live and forecast fire danger and fire season data is now visible on all town, city and rural pages of metservice.com (on desktop and mobile), along with advice on actions to be taken under the conditions.

Fire data updates daily to capture the maximum risk for each day, and the day after, as well as displaying the fire season for the user’s region and outlining whether a fire permit might be required.

Our Wildfire Specialist, Rory Renwick, says the partnership with MetService will make it easier for people to find out their local fire danger.

“Rather than getting people to visit checkitsalright.nz or drive down to the nearest fire danger sign, we can now serve this information to people on the platforms they already use.

“People can decide on the right action to take based on the current and forecast conditions.

“Arming them with knowledge about safe burning times, conditions and risks through the MetService website could potentially help in reducing the number of and severity of wildfires.”

Metservice.com is one of the country’s most visited sites with around 1 million visitors per day, and with the MetService app to be added over the coming weeks, we’re sure to be reaching a significant number of people as they plan their outdoor activities this summer. Additionally, a national fire danger report will also be incorporated into weather forecasts provided to all major TV networks, newspapers, and radio stations on daily basis.

“This is a positive step towards our vision making fire danger an integral part of the New Zealand weather ecosystem,” says Rory.

How can you help?

Give us a hand and make sure you let people in your community know they can access this information quickly and easily, at the same time as they check the weather for the day.