Our climate is on steroids. The extremes of recent days will become the norm

Ireland experienced unprecedented May heat last week, with Shannon Airport recording 30.6°C—breaking the previous all-time May record by over 2 degrees. This followed Ardfert, Kerry’s record of 28.7°C from 1995, as temperatures soared across the country. The heatwave was driven by a stationary anticyclone pulling hot air from North Africa and a cold air mass descending from the western Atlantic, intensifying surface heat. The extreme temperatures align with Ireland’s warming climate, which has risen by 0.7°C over the past 30 years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that such heat events, once rare, will now occur every four years as global temperatures approach 1.5°C. Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average, with record-breaking heat also seen in London, France, and Spain. Health risks from extreme heat are severe, with nine out of ten weather-related deaths in Europe caused by heatwaves. Last summer’s heatwaves led to 16,500 excess deaths across 854 European cities, primarily affecting those aged 65 and older. Ireland’s vulnerability is heightened due to poor housing insulation and a lack of acclimatization to high temperatures, with past heat events linked to over 100 excess deaths. The shift toward summer mortality risks is accelerating, particularly for the elderly, young, and unborn. Ireland’s historical winter deaths from cold are expected to decline as summer heatwaves become more frequent and intense. Many European countries have implemented heat-health action plans, but Ireland has yet to adopt such measures on a national scale. Experts emphasize that these May extremes will soon become the norm, demanding urgent adaptation strategies. The rapid rise in record temperatures—occurring 10 times faster than expected in a stable climate—underscores the need for climate action to mitigate future health and environmental impacts.