EDITORIAL: Reality of climate change hits home as Offaly sizzles in simmering heat

IRELAND and the Midlands have been basking in sizzling summer heat for the past few days with record high temperatures.

On Monday the temperature recorded was the highest since the 1880s and may have been the highest ever as there is some uncertainty regarding the veracity of the 19th century recording in co. Kilkenny.

The weather has provided welcome respite from the myriad of problems facing citizens, from cost of living worries to the fallout from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Irish people of all ages took to the beaches and the water in order to make the most of the heatwave, which is expected to be of shirt duration.

As welcome as the high temperatures are they also create problems, in particular for Irish Water and for hard pressed farmers.

But the heatwave also raises far more important and fundamental questions about climate change and the future of the planet.

The sizzling summer heat really does bring home to ordinary people that climate change is happening and is not a fraud as some sceptics claim.

Tackling climate change will affect each and every citizen especially those at the coalface of the situation such as the farming and agri-food sectors.

Motorists will also feel the pinch in the long term and more and more people will switch to electric vehicles in the coming years.

While we may not have experienced the searing heat other countries such as France, Spain and Portugal have endured in the past week this county is not immune to the effects of climate change.

Professor John Sweeney, a climate change scientist from Maynooth University, speaking to the Irish Independent this week, said: “As the global average, we have warmed up by just under one degree in the past century or so and we have seen fairly significant changes occurring even in our own climate here.

“We have seen, for example, 15 of 20 warmest years on record occurring only in the last 30 years. We are seeing rainfall increases, I think around six pc or so, on average, in terms of rainfall changes and that is bringing its own set of impacts to Ireland in terms of our agriculture, in terms of our water supply, the risk of fires and so on.”

Prof Sweeney suggested that Ireland is a few years behind the rest of the world when it comes to temperature change.

“We are not immune as a mid-altitude country. We are going to experience the global average of temperature change sooner rather than later, and maybe it will be a few years behind the rest of the world, but we are not going to be in anyway immune to what is happening elsewhere.

“We do get extremes like the very hot summers of 1976 or 1995 but what we are seeing now is those events are going to become more frequent, they are becoming more severe, and we are getting a heatwave starting from a higher base.”

In July 2021, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 was enacted, significantly strengthening the statutory framework for governance of the climate challenge. This new framework includes the delivery of successive Climate Action Plans.

Climate Action Plans must set out the measures and implementation pathways for reaching our 2030 and 2050 emissions targets, as well as including specific timelines and assigning responsibilities for implementation. All Climate Action Plans have been, and will continue to be, prepared through a collaborative process with engagement and inputs from all relevant Government Departments and Agencies.

In addition, the National Dialogue on Climate Action (NDCA) is actively engaging with stakeholders and the public on climate action across Ireland, enabling and empowering people at a local and national level.