2023 was warmest year on record, according to Met Éireann

For the first ever time, Ireland’s annual average temperature has been recorded as greater than 11C. Last year, the previous warmest on record set the average temperature at 10.9C.

Met Éireann’s head of climate services Keith Lambkin said: “Ireland has seen a remarkable year with rainfall and warming at unprecedented levels at times.

“These record-breaking extremes have knock-on consequences to much of society. 

The data, stretching back 124 years, sets 2023 as the warmest on record with the warmest June, and the wettest March and wettest July, ever recorded. It is the first time since 1941 that two months observed their wettest on record.

For the first time in 23 years, four months of the year were within their top 5 warmest months on record too, Met Éireann said.

January 2023 saw the lowest temperature of the year recorded, with –7.2C on Tuesday 17 January at Lullymore Nature Centre in Kildare.

April, meanwhile, saw Storm Noa bring storm force winds to up to 17.3m on the Cork and Kerry coastlines.

In June, the average temperatures for that month were above 16C for the first time, while July was the wettest month of the year.

Met Éireann said: “September 2023 was the 3rd warmest September with rare September heatwaves and the highest temperature of the year with 29.1°C on Friday 8th September 2023 at Lullymore Nature Centre, Co Kildare.” In all, 11 storms were named this year. The most recent, Storm Gerrit, saw a Status Yellow warning still in effect for much of the country today.

The warning, which came into effect shortly after 8am this morning, will remain in place until 9pm on Thursday night, bringing a risk of further power outages, dangerous driving conditions and localised flooding.

Hundreds of houses remain without power following the arrival of the storm, which brought strong winds and heavy rainfall across the country.

Met Éireann said that that given new records keep being set year-on-year, Ireland must take action to prepare for future weather events to come.

Mr Lambkin added: “Past weather events are no longer a reliable indicator of future weather events, but knowing this allows us to better plan and adapt to our changing climate.”