Though the snow and ice that blanketed vast swathes of the country thawed last week and temperatures have now recovered from sub-zero lows, the hazardous Arctic blast raised deeper questions about Ireland’s readiness to deal with future climate challenges.
Copernicus, the European climate change service, reported last week that average global temperatures were, for the first time, 1.6C warmer than pre-industrial levels in 2024, making it the hottest year on record. Met Eireann’s annual climate report also found that last year was Ireland’s fourth warmest on record, with average temperatures just half a degree cooler than 2023, which was the hottest in the island’s history. Three out of five of Ireland’s warmest years have occurred since 2020.
Elsewhere, calamitous wildfires in Los Angeles served as
