A fire ecologist says New Zealanders will have to change their way of thinking to prepare for predicted devastating wildfires.
A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, out on Monday, will say hotter and drier weather could lead to more and larger wildfires throughout much of the country.
It says such fires will bring an increased risk of damage to human life and settlements, and the ecosystem.
University of Tasmania professor of environmental change biology David Bowman, says the risk is worse because of the prevalence of pine trees and grass in this country.
"The challenge for New Zealanders is to start thinking about fire as a new factor in planning of landscapes and living in landscapes."
Dr Bowman says that doesn't mean panicking, but the threat needs to be taken seriously.
The Green Party says the report is a wake-up call for New Zealand, and shows more has to be done to prepare for rising sea levels and extreme weather.
Greens' co-leader Russel Norman says it is a call to action.
"It provides very stark evidence that climate change will cost New Zealand both in terms of the impact on our land but also in terms of the impact on our people, and that the Government has a responsibility to act - a responsibility that it's failing to take up at the moment."
