As the North Atlantic is beset by a marine “heatwave”, a new climate dataset project aims to inform adaptation to changing weather in Ireland.
The “Translate” project involving Met Éireann combines all previous climate projects “of relevance” for Ireland to “help Irish society to speak the same climate language”.
Met Éireann is releasing the first climate projections of the “Translate” initiative at the European Climate Change Adaptation Conference 2023 (ECCA) held in Dublin this week.
Initial findings confirm a warming climate signal for Ireland, with temperatures projected to increase across all greenhouse gas emission scenarios.
"summers are projected to be drier and winters to be wetter"
“The dataset confirms that Ireland is likely to experience a decrease in the frequency of cold winter nights and up to a 10-fold increase in the frequency of warm (> 15°C) summer nights, alongside an increasing number of heatwaves, by the end of the century,” it says.
As predicted in some of the first climate change reports three decades ago, summers are projected to be drier and winters to be wetter, with precipitation increasing annually.
“Translate” is described as a “stepping-stone in the development of Ireland’s National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS)”.
Coordinated by Met Éireann and partner organisations, the NFCS supports climate adaptation by providing tailored information and services on Ireland’s changing climate to the public and key stakeholders, such as the energy sector.
“Translate” climate projections will be freely accessible to the public and decision-makers around the country.
The research initiative is a collaborative effort led by climate researchers from the University of Galway – Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC) and University College Cork – SFI Research Centre for Energy, Climate and Marine (MaREI), supported by Met Éireann climatologists.
