● As reported by Met Éireann in the May Climate Statement: Last month saw the national May maximum temperature record exceeded by more than 2°C. An intense area of high pressure combined with an unseasonably hot tropical airmass brought exceptionally high temperatures between Monday 25th and Wednesday 27th. The previous May national record high temperature of 28.4°C set in Ardfert, Co Kerry in 1997, was surpassed at a series of locations on Monday, May 25th, before a greater number of stations reached temperatures in excess of 30.6°C on Tuesday, May 26th. ● The record-breaking single day May temperatures, when many May station records were broken, were found to not be possible without human induced climate change. ● Under the current climate (1.3°C warmer than pre-industrial), this single day extreme is expected to occur once every 60 years, and is projected to occur once every 20 years in a climate 3°C warmer than pre-industrial levels. ● These record-breaking temperatures have become 1.1°C warmer compared to if they had occurred in a pre-industrial world. Temperatures are expected to increase by a further 0.1°C, 0.5°C and 1.1°C under a climate where warming has reached 1.5°C, 2°C and 3°C. ● The five-day mean temperatures have become nearly twice as likely today (1-in-5 years) compared to a pre-industrial climate (1-in-9 years) and are expected to further increase in likelihood under future warming. The temperatures themselves have become 1.4°C warmer today compared to a pre-industrial climate and are projected to increase by a further 1.1°C under a climate where warming has reached 3°C. ● The nighttime temperatures experienced were a 1-in-8 year event under a pre-industrial climate and have become nearly three times more likely (1-in-3 year event) under today’s climate. Under a climate where warming has reached 3°C, the likelihood of these temperatures occurring becomes a 1-in-1-to-2 year event, meaning experiencing these uncomfortable nighttime temperatures will be the new norm. ● Nighttime temperatures were also found to have increased in intensity by 1.3°C compared to a pre-industrial world. These temperatures are projected to increase by a further 0.1°C, 0.4°C and 1.1°C under a climate where warming has reached 1.5°C, 2°C and 3°C.