Met Eireann data show that 2022 was the warmest year ever recorded for Ireland.
According to statistics, 2022 was also the twelfth year in a row with temperatures that were above average, which led researchers to label the year “interesting” in terms of climate.
Since the record’s inception in 1900, temperatures have been rising consistently, showing that this trend has lasted for more than 120 years.
This summer, beginning in July, there were a number of significant heatwaves. All over the country, temperatures spiked, reaching a high of 33 degrees on July 18 at Phoenix Park, the highest temperature ever recorded in Dublin and the second highest in all of Ireland.
Reports revealed that Ireland experienced hotter temperatures than Hawaii during the sizzling snap. Night-time temperature highs of 20 degrees were also recorded, causing uncomfortable sleep for much of the nation.
However, the recent cold snap this month assisted in bringing the yearly average temperature back down. Keith Lambkin, a climatologist with Met Eireann, told RTE’s Morning Ireland that the sustained above-average temperatures over the previous year likely made the sub-zero temperatures feel even colder.
He told RTE: “It was 18 consecutive months that we were above normal temperature, which is why December felt so cold. It was below average but we’d almost acclimatised ourselves to these warmer temperatures previously- it was quite a drop down to those colder December temperatures that we hadn’t seen in quite some time.”
The country could face water shortages as a result of this year’s heat wave. A European Commission report also found that the hot weather’s impact on vegetation conditions had a negative impact on summer crop yields. 2007 was yet another sweltering year, with Ireland and the UK experiencing an extended period of unusually warm weather.