Urgent Climate Action needed as Ireland has experienced the hottest June on record

Green Party TD for Waterford, Marc Ó Cathasaigh highlights the urgency of Climate Action as Met Éireann announce that Ireland has experienced the hottest June on record. 

Met Éireann, has announced that June 2023 will be recorded as the hottest June in history. With average temperatures surpassing 16+°C, this milestone breaks an 83-year-old record, signaling the intensifying impact of climate change on Ireland’s climate patterns. Waterford’s Green Party TD, Marc Ó Cathasaigh, emphasized the urgent need for climate action in response to this alarming development.

“The unprecedented heatwave in June highlights the dire consequences of climate change on our region,” said Marc Ó Cathasaigh. “As the temperatures continue to rise, it becomes increasingly clear that we must take immediate and decisive action to address this crisis. Met Éireann’s research, including their recently published TRANSLATE project, serves as a reminder that we need to understand and prepare for a changing climate across all sectors of society.”

June 2023 exhibited a remarkable temperature increase of over half a degree compared to June 1940. This year also witnessed the third consecutive occurrence of a temperature equal to or exceeding 28.8°C, with the highest temperature reported at Oak Park in Co Carlow on June 13th. 

Deputy Ó Cathasaigh continued: While we saw a small decrease in temperatures in the last few days of the month, they weren’t sufficient to change the record-breaking situation. The trend is going in the wrong directions and scientists and climatologists believe that record-breaking temperatures like these will become more frequent and normal with more temperature records being broken in future summers and perhaps even latter this summer in Ireland. We just have to listen to the science and take the proactive measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change.”

Met Éireann’s primary weather stations also reported their warmest June on record, with 23 out of 25 stations displaying unprecedented temperature levels. Although early June brought cooler easterly winds to the east coast, resulting in relatively lower temperatures at Phoenix Park and Dublin Airport, both stations still experienced their warmest June since 1976.

The rise in temperatures and associated extreme weather events are consequences of climate change. Recent marine heatwaves off the coast of Ireland have caused elevated sea-surface temperatures, amplifying the severity of this environmental crisis.

Dr. Pádraig Flattery, a researcher at Met Éireann, highlighted the correlation between climate change and extreme weather events.

“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.”

The World Meteorological Organisation’s recent warning that Europe is warming at twice the rate of other continents underscores the urgency of addressing climate change. With 16,000 lives lost last year due to extreme heat and substantial economic impacts resulting from widespread droughts, the need for immediate action cannot be overstated. Spain has seen a threefold increase in June heatwaves over the past 12 years, while the UK also experienced its warmest June on record this year.

Met Éireann will publish the provisional statement on June 2023’s weather and climate, including information on rainfall and sunshine, on their website on July 4th, 2023.