Met Éireann recorded five extreme climate events

IRELAND experienced five extreme weather alerts last year, with more such events occurring in ever greater numbers around the world.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has described such events as the ‘day-to-day face of climate change’, and a ‘clear sign that human activities are causing planetary-scale changes on land, in the ocean, and in the atmosphere’.

Met Éireann reported five weather events to the organisation, which included an unusual drought or dry spell in seven different counties from May 29, 2021, lasting up to 30 days.

Overall, 2021 in Ireland was its eighth warmest year since 1900, with 12 of the 20 warmest years having occurred since 2002.

There was also an unusual heatwave from July 16, which lasted up to ten days and was recorded by 14 out of 25 weather stations around the country. Another unusual heatwave from September 1 caused provisionally the warmest September and autumn on record for Ireland.

There was then an unusual extratropical cyclone from November 16, lasting two days.

Also in November, Storm Arwen brought northerly gales and up to storm force 10 winds, This was followed by Storm Barra, an unusual extra-tropical cyclone which hit Ireland on December 7 and lasted for two days, causing flooding, transport disruption and many schools and creches to be closed.