Community Climate Change Consortium for Ireland

Supercell

I noticed that the met.ie page is linking to their analysis of a recent Climate change report from an Irish perspective, makes very interesting reading.

http://www.c4i.ie/top_news.html

Temperatures in Ireland are predicted to increase by 1.25-1.5�C by 2040 compared to 1961 to 2000. Rainfall is expected to increase in winter by about 15% and summer projections range from no change to a 20% decrease. Extreme rainfall events show more marked changes with more events occurring in autumn and a 20% increase in 2-day extreme rain amounts, especially in northern areas. Taking the projected precipitation changes into account, a hydrological study of the Suir catchment area showed a significant increase in the number of extreme discharge events and a slight increase in their intensity, leading to an increased probability of flooding in the future. Another C4I study focuses on how the rise in global temperature might affect the intensity and frequency of storms in the North Atlantic. The frequency of very intense storms was found to increase by a factor of 2 by the end of this century compared to the end of the 20th century although there was a slight decrease in the total number of depressions.

This will have major implications for Agriculture in Ireland as well as Tourism and many other industries. Not sure I'd like to live in the west all year round if increased storminess like this winter becomes the norm - or even worse.