Ireland's climate is wetter and hotter, with sea levels rising and oceans becoming warmer

The annual rainfall in Ireland has been higher 6% from 1989 to 2018, compared to 1961 and 1990.

The evidence is clear and incontrovertible - global warming has resulted in Ireland’s climate becoming warmer and wetter, with 15 of the top 20 warmest years on record occurring since 1990, while the decade 2006 to 2015 was the wettest on record.

That is according to the findings of a major new report from three agencies in Ireland, which examined long-term observations of Irish climate patterns.

The joint report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Met Éireann (MÉ) and the Marine Institute (MI) also found that sea levels are rising, along with increased ocean temperatures and acidity.

• Annual average surface air temperature in Ireland has increased by over 0.9°C over the last 120 years, with a rise in temperature being observed in all seasons.
• Annual precipitation was 6% higher from 1989 to 2018, compared to 1961 and 1990.
• The concentration of the main culprit, greenhouse gases - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide - continued to increase since 2012 with long-term implications for Ireland's climate.

Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are the highest observed since measurements began, while background carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations reached in 2020 are approximately a 50% increase compared to pre-industrial levels.

Sea level around Ireland has risen by approximately 2-3mm per year since the early 1990s, while measurements in the surface water to the west of Ireland indicate an increase in ocean acidity, the report said, comparable to the levels in oceans across the world.

Read More about #Climate Change

Methane - a main emissions driver from Irish agriculture - concentrations have increased approximately 170% compared to pre-industrial levels, it added.

Nitrous oxide (N2O) concentrations, which are a by-product of fuel combustion such as from cars, are now approximately 20% higher compared to pre-industrial levels.

The report found that the average sea surface temperature measured at Malin Head has been 0.47ºC higher over the last 10 years compared to the period 1981-2010.

In relation to land, there is evidence in recent years of an increase in potential drought conditions, especially in the east, the data showed.

Land cover observations since 1990 show increases in the areas covered by artificial surfaces and forest whilst there is a decrease in wetland areas, it added.

However, mitigation measures work, the report said.

The Status of Ireland’s Climate 2020 shows climate change is evident in Ireland, as our climate has become warmer and wetter.

Read more in the report published today by @meteireann @MarineInst @EPAIreland 📚https://t.co/NrdLOybycV#IrishClimateStatus pic.twitter.com/woSUF5g1X9

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) August 12, 2021

Atmospheric levels of sulfur from 1980 to 2015 measured at Valentia Observatory in Kerry show an approximately 80% reduction, highlighting the success of regulation and technological advances in relation to aerosols.

Met Éireann director Eoin Moran said: “As citizens in Ireland and around the world are now seeing the impacts of climate change, through ever more extreme weather events, fires and flooding, etc. High quality observations of the climate are crucial to help inform society’s response to the climate emergency.

"Scientific long-term monitoring of the climate underpins climate research and the development of climate services which support policy-making and decision-making in the face of the urgency of the climate crisis."

CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB