Abstract
The publisher has issued an Expression of Concern relating to the use of the Aotearoa New Zealand Extreme Weather Event (EWE) database metadata contrary to the usage restrictions issued by its creators, which state that "Due to continual improvements in observational data sets and methods for identification and documentation of EWEs over the period of this database, more recent years contain a larger number of entries. As such, users of this database are cautioned and urged NOT to infer any annual or decadal trends through the period of the database".
The article’s findings, theoretical contributions and conclusions currently remain intact; the journal and publisher have, however, taken the decision to publish an Expression of Concern to alert readers to this issue and as trust in the content is central to the integrity of the publication process.