Ireland has become warmer and wetter in the last thirty years

Met Eireann has published Ireland's new Climate Averages for 1991 to 2020. For this study, Met Eireann looked at two 30 year periods - 1961 to 1990 and 1991 to 2020.

Spring experienced the greatest temperature rise, with an increase of 0.8°C between the two average periods. Highest rises in temperature were seen in May at around 1.0°C, followed by around 0.9°C in February, April and November.

Sunshine hours have also shown an upward trend between the two periods, with around 5% or 63 more hours of annual sunshine.

Annual average rainfall has increased by around 7% and almost all regions in Ireland have seen an increase in annual average rainfall between 1961 to 1990 and 1991 to 2020.

Met Eireann says "we know that the atmosphere is warming and what we're seeing at the local and national scale fits the international picture".

JUNE TEMPERATURES BREAK 83-YEAR-OLD RECORD

Met Éireann has announced that June 2023 will be recorded as the hottest June on record. Data shows that Ireland has experienced its first June with 16+°C average temperatures, exceeding the previous June record which held for 83 years,

Berliners warned of suspected lioness on the loose

A presumed lioness is on the loose in Berlin, where residents in some areas were warned to stay indoors as police tried to track down the animal.

Police were first alerted by two members of the public who recorded mobile phone footage of what appeared to be a wild boar and a lion chasing each other. Authorities believe the wild cat could be asleeping in one of the many lakeland forests in Brandenburg, the state that surrounds Germany's capital. half a degree higher than June 1940.

"We recommend that people shouldn't leave the house to walk and especially not to go jogging in the forest," said Michael Gruber, mayor of Kleinmachnow, where the animal was first spotted. Since no zoos or circuses have reported a missing lioness, police believe she must be an escaped pet.

The highest temperature of 2023 so far, 28.8°C, was reported at Oak Park in Co Carlow on Tuesday 13th June. This is the third consecutive year that a temperature at or above this value has been observed in Ireland.

Met Éireann’s Climatologist, Paul Moore says, “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 16°C 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.”

Met Éireann researcher Dr. Pádraig Flattery explains, “As climate change continues, we can expect further records to be broken and more frequent and extreme weather events. A warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture (about 7% for every 1°C of warming) and warmer waters, in turn, provide more energy for storms and can contribute to extreme rainfall events.”

‘Wettest July on record’ causing ‘havoc’ on tillage farms

Tillage farmers are racing against time to harvest crops during the current weather window.

Michael Hennessy, head of crops knowledge transfer at Teagasc, spoke this week of the severe pressure facing farmers following the heavy rain of recent weeks.

“In terms of the weather in July, certainly it’s been the wettest on record I think in many places, so it’s really causing havoc out there,” he said.

Teagasc is predicting that the overall production of cereals across the country this year will drop by 16% to just over two million tonnes.

This is down from the harvest of 2.4 million tonnes last year, which was slightly above average.

Teagasc is currently forecasting that the spring barley will be back by 9% and spring wheat production is expected to drop by 38% and winter barley may be back by 24%.

Firefighters across Europe rush to Greece to battle Athens wildfires

Fire planes and ground crews from several European countries are heading to Greece where wildfires outside Athens have intensified as relentless heatwave conditions are keeping much of southern Europe above 40C.

Three firefighting teams from Poland, Romania and Slovakia are due in Greece this weekend, while Israel had pledged two firefighting planes, adding to the four from Italy and France.

Temperatures in southern Greece are expected to reach 44C this weekend, in the second heatwave to hit Europe’s Mediterranean south in two weeks. This week Rome hit a sweltering 42C to 43C, while highs in Sicily and Sardinia reached 46C. Parts of Spain hit 45C. The firefighters were being sent to Greece as part of a European Union civil protection mechanism that includes the planned deployment of international crews to parts of southern Europe over the summer.