Any thought that climate change in Ireland is a problem that can be deferred to an indefinite future should be scotched, once and for all, by the 2026 annual review of the government-appointed Climate Change Advisory Council, published this week.
The report, which surveys Ireland’s climate over 2025, offers powerful cumulative data. It reveals that Ireland is not only already in the midst of the climate crisis, but that it is not doing nearly enough to avert its intensification, and to cope with its already inevitable consequences.
The report shows clearly that Ireland’s climate is consistently warming, and that extreme events credibly attributable to this warming are becoming more frequent, and more intense. The result is actual and potential increasing damage to livelihoods, health, communities, critical infrastructure and ecosystems on multiple levels.
The year 2025 started as it went on, with the extremity of Storm Éowyn, whose record-breaking winds made it the most costly storm-related event in Irish insurance history.
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Both the spring and summer of 2025 were the warmest on record. Average summer temperatures were almost 2°C above the 1961-1990 long-term average. Overall, the year was the second warmest on record, with seven of the 10 warmest years having occurred since 2007.
Extremes dominated every aspect of climate in 2025. There was widespread summer drought, which was followed by the fourth wettest autumn on record. The resulting saturation of the land, and raising of river levels, left parts of the country exceptionally vulnerable to flooding from the extreme weather event of Storm Claudia in November, and again to Storm Chandra last January.
Ireland’s experience last year must be placed in the global context where the last three years were the three warmest on record, and the major greenhouse gases reached their highest recorded levels. The dire consequences, especially for rising sea levels, was noted in the recent UN World Meteorological Organization report .
The latest review acknowledges significant advances in climate monitoring, but says that information remains fragmented, as does policy. Early warning systems, and flood defences, need particular attention. Meanwhile, continued reliance on fossil fuels has not only left Ireland vulnerable to the current oil crisis, it contributes directly to the global heating which drives climate change.
Overall, the review paints a very troubling picture of climate change and Ireland’s response to it. It reinforces “the urgency of the Council’s previous recommendations to accelerate investment in and action on climate adaptation.” Until Irish politicians bring climate up, front and central in all their deliberations, there will be more years like 2025, and, arguably, much worse years rapidly after that.
