Met Éireann is inviting members of the public to take part in a nationwide citizen science initiative aimed at rescuing millions of historic weather records.

The Irish Weather Rescue Project, launched to coincide with Climate Action Week, seeks to digitise 3.5 million rainfall observations recorded between 1864 and 1951. These entries, currently stored in handwritten Rainfall Registers at the National Climate Archive, span 763 stations across the country.

The project offers volunteers a chance to transcribe these records online, helping to preserve a vital part of Ireland’s climate history. According to Met Éireann, the digitised data will provide researchers with a clearer picture of long-term rainfall patterns and support the verification of climate models. This, in turn, will enhance the accuracy of future climate projections and inform national policy on climate resilience.

Dr Ciara Ryan, a climatologist with Met Éireann, said the initiative allows the public to make a meaningful contribution to climate science. She noted that the data will shed light on changes in the frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events over the past 160 years and their potential links to human-driven climate change.

Dr Rhonda McGovern, postdoctoral researcher and coordinator of the project, said that during the pilot phase, 300 volunteers transcribed nearly 10,000 months of weather observations. Participants can enter rainfall values, station names, measurement units and observer details. Each entry is transcribed four times to ensure accuracy, and volunteers can monitor their progress throughout.

The project is hosted on the Zooniverse platform, where contributors can access scanned images of the records and use templates to input the data. Support materials, including tutorials and a discussion forum, are available to guide volunteers. Once digitised, the records will be shared with researchers and added to national and international climate data repositories.

Met Éireann will continue to provide updates on the project’s progress and highlight the contributions of volunteers. Those interested in participating can visit irishweatherrescue.ie to get started.