Galway researchers secure €1m to tackle extreme weather

Two research projects at the University of Galway have received almost €1 million from Met Éireann to advance Ireland’s climate services and flood forecasting capabilities.

They are among six projects at Irish universities awarded a total of €2.8 million under the national meteorological service’s Weather and Climate Research Programme, which funds high-impact research on climate change, extreme weather and environmental sustainability.

Dr Paul Nolan, of the Irish Centre for High-End Computing (ICHEC), will lead T3UD: TRANSLATE-3 – Underpinning Data, a four-year project delivering updated, standardised climate projections for Ireland. Using high-resolution local simulations combined with Met Éireann’s historical records, the research aims to provide robust, user-focused projections for local authorities, utilities and other sectors.

“We can provide the best insights from the worlds of physics and statistics to inform climate adaptation plans,” Dr Nolan said, adding that the work will address uncertainty and risk management while clearly communicating confidence levels in the data.

The second University of Galway project, IMUFF: Integrated Multi-model multi-hazard Flood Forecasting, is led by civil engineering lecturer Dr Indiana Olbert. The two-year initiative will develop a system for three-day forecasts of compound coastal–fluvial floods — when high tides and river flooding occur together — using artificial intelligence to generate predictive water depth maps.

“With more than 300 Irish communities at risk from this type of flooding, the project will support the forecasting work of Met Éireann’s Flood Forecasting Centre,” Dr Olbert said. “It will strengthen community resilience and preparedness for the growing threat of compound floods.”

Professor Lokesh Joshi, interim vice-president for research and innovation at University of Galway, said the awards “recognise the strength” of the university’s work in “vital areas such as delivering advanced climate projections and improving flood forecasting”.

Met Éireann’s Weather and Climate Research Programme, launched in 2018, has directly funded €10.3 million in research to date. This is the fourth round of awards, with 80 per cent of applications in 2024 coming from researchers new to the scheme.