Met Éireann has said Ireland can expect more frequent and extreme weather events, including higher temperatures and thunderstorms, due to climate change.
The warning comes as provisional data from the forecaster indicates that June 2023 will be the hottest June on record in the country, breaking an 83-year-old temperature record.
The World Meteorological Organization recently warned that Europe is warming twice as fast as other continents and Ireland is feeling the effect.
According to Met Éireann, average temperatures for June here exceeded 16 degrees Celsius for the first time, breaking the previous June record – set in 1940 – by more than half a degree.
The highest temperature recorded in Donegal so far this year was 26.4 degrees at Finner Camp on June 14.
Nationally, the highest temperature this year to date was 28.8C in Co Carlow.
2023 is the third year in a row that a temperature at or above this value has been observed in Ireland.
Met Éireann Climatologist Paul Moore told RTE News that “although temperatures have fallen in recent days, they will not prevent this June’s record-breaking situation.
“This year’s particularly warm June is part of an observed warming trend and our research shows that this trend will continue. Our recently published TRANSLATE project provides a reminder that right across society we need to understand and plan for a changing climate.
“An average monthly temperature of greater than 16C has been seen in July and August but never before in June. June 2023 was well above normal due to persistent warm days and nights.
“Twenty-three of 25 Met Éireann primary weather stations are showing their warmest June on record. In early June, cool easterly winds on the east coast meant that Phoenix Park and Dublin Airport stations were cooler but they still show their warmest June since 1976.”
Met Éireann said that climate change makes record-breaking temperatures like these more likely, and that the recent marine heatwave off the coast of Ireland has brought extreme sea-surface temperatures to Irish shores.
Met Éireann researcher Dr Pádraig Flattery said that “warmer waters, in turn, provide more energy for storms and can contribute to extreme rainfall events”.
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