Jim Salinger

Jim Salinger

Jim was born in 1947 in Dunedin. He went to Otago Boys' High School and Otago University. He built his own mini-weather station in his parents backyard. It had louvred screens, thermometer, gauges for rain and wind. He found his weather study so interesting he decided to make it his career. Today Jim is a world expert on climate change.

As a climate researcher at university and later in the former New Zealand Meteorological Service, Jim has long been involved in researching and monitoring past and current climate trends. He works as a principal scientist with NIWA, the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. There he prepares climate updates and leads research projects on New Zealand's climate change. 

The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. The IPCC is an international body of scientist  and officials who check out information and write reports on climate change. About 500 of the IPCC's lead authors received a special certificate acknowledging their contribution to the panel's work. A dozen Kiwis, including Jim, have been lead authors on IPCC reports.