April weather - Early summer spells worry for millions

EARLIER summers, shorter springs, wetter autumns and stormier winters are among the main ingredients of global warming.

And true to form, despite the persistent denials of nay-sayers, April in Ireland was the hottest on record.

According to the Met Office, the range of temperature was more typical of May, with unusually high level of sunshine and low rainfall.

In tune with the changing face of nature, wildlife patterns are being transformed. Those harbingers of summer, swifts, swallows, and cuckoos, have arrived earlier than ever.

In the slipstream of migrating swifts, the hawthorn has also come into blossom before its traditional appearance in the month of May, aptly coining the phrase that “spring is the new summer”.

Given Ireland’s capacity for incessant rainfall, most people will welcome a warming climate. But for millions of people, the rapid rise in summer temperatures, matched by the growing intensity of winter storms, are extremely worrying trends.