2023 WAS IRELAND’S warmest year on record, according to new data from Met Éireann.

The forecaster’s Provisional State of the Irish Climate Report 2023 also shows that Ireland’s average temperature rose above 11 degrees for the first time since records began 124 years ago.

Of the 25 stations included in the report, 24 recorded their warmest on record. One – on Sherkin Island in Co Cork – recorded a higher temperature in 2007.

The warmest month was June – itself the warmest on record – while February was one of the mildest (5th) and driest (6th).

July was the wettest month of 2023. Both March and July were the wettest on record, the first time two months have broken this record since 1941.

The highest temperature of the year was recorded 8 September (the third warmest September on record) in Co Kildare, coming in at 29.1 degrees.

Met Éireann highlighted that Cork Airport recorded its highest October rainfall ever during Storm Babet, coming in at 222% of the month’s 1921-2020 long-term average.

The provisional data also found that “four months of the year were within their top 5 warmest months on record” for the first time since 2000, compared to the average of between one and two months over the past 23 years.

“Ireland has seen a remarkable year with rainfall and warming at unprecedented levels at times,” Keith Lambkin, head of climate services at Met Éireann, said in a statement.

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

The full report will be published here on 4 January.