The Republic of Ireland Meteorological Service Met Éireann has recorded the warmest year on record.
The service’s 2023 Ireland Climate Report shows average annual temperatures have exceeded 11C (51.8F) for the first time, surpassing the previous warmest year in 2022.
It was also a year of extremes, with the hottest June and wettest March and July on record.
The figures followed an EU climate change report in November that said 2023 was “virtually certain” to be the warmest year on record globally.
The Met Office has not yet published 2023 figures for Northern Ireland.
However, Northern Ireland recorded its warmest June on record in 2023, dating back to 1884.
The average temperature was recorded at 16 degrees, 3 degrees higher than normal for this time of year.
It was also the wettest July on record in Northern Ireland since 1836.
In July, 185.4 mm of rain fell, exceeding the previous record of 185.2 mm set in July 1936.
year of storms
2023 was also a year of storms, with 11 named storms, including three in December: Erin, Fergus and Gerrit.
The arrival of Storm Gerrit on Wednesday marked the earliest arrival of the G-labeled storm this season.
The previous earliest was Storm Georgina on 23 January 2018 and the latest was Storm Gareth on 11 March 2019.
This is also the fourth time since naming began in 2015 that a storm’s name has reached the letter G.