File photo. Photo: Photo / Tracy Neal / RNZ Researchers from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) are spending the next six months updating Aotearoa's 'Climate Normals' statistics. This refers to averages taken from a 30 year timespan that climate scientists use when describing things like rainfall or temperature as being below or above average. Scientists currently compare to figures taken between 1981 and 2010, but these will soon be updated to the three decades between 1991 and 2020. The change was prompted by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) and updating to the new 30-year time period is a requirement for all WMO member countries.