2024 was fourth warmest on record in Ireland

2024 was the fourth warmest year on record for Ireland and the warmest year ever for Europe.

That is according to 2024 European State of the Climate report published this week by the Copernicus Climate Change Service and World Meteorological Organisation.

The publication states that Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, due to the proportion of European land in the Arctic, which is the fastest-warming region on Earth, and more frequent summer heatwaves.

Ireland is warming at a slower rate than continental Europe due to the influence of the surrounding sea.

Paul Moore, Climatologist with Met Éireann, said, “2024 was Ireland’s fourth warmest year on record, even though it may not have always felt that way, especially during the cooler than average summer months. It was often cloudy during 2024 and this, along with continued high sea surface temperatures across the North Atlantic, led to higher nighttime temperatures being more influential.”

“The main reason behind Ireland ‘only’ having its 4th warmest year on record in 2024 and Europe having its warmest year on record in 2024 is down to the synoptic setup or large-scale atmospheric patterns that developed during the summer months of 2024,” he added.

Carlo Buontempo, the Director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, commented, “2024 was the warmest year on record for Europe. We observed the longest heatwave in southeastern Europe and record glacier mass loss in Scandinavia and Svalbard. But 2024 was also a year of marked climate contrasts between eastern and western Europe.”

He continued, “The European State of the Climate is a treasure trove of quality information about our changing climate. Learning how to use climate data and information to inform our decisions should become a priority for all of us.”

Read the 2024 European State of the Climate (ESOTC) report.