Despite repeated warnings, Storm Éowyn has shown up Ireland’s lack of adequate investment in making the country capable of withstanding extreme weather events, according to the Climate Change Advisory Council.
Failure to put structures and resources in place “will increasingly expose people and communities to the destructive effects of extreme weather events; magnifying future costs and risks to society”, the council says in its latest report on adapting to inevitable climate impacts.
The expert group, which advises the Government on how best to respond to the climate crisis, says investment must be scaled up immediately because Ireland needs to be “much better prepared for the next major weather event”.
This should include “improved monitoring of climate events and their impacts required to radically improve preparedness for and our ability to respond to rapidly emerging extreme weather events”.
The report, published on Wednesday, calls for a “national climate damage register” to monitor and record the economic, social and environmental impacts of extreme weather events.
Prof Peter Thorne, chair of the council’s adaptation committee, said that if “we do not put the structures and resources in place we will increasingly expose people and communities to the destructive effects of extreme weather events, magnifying future costs and risks to society”.
The report focuses on Ireland’s changing climate and extreme weather events during 2024, but also sets out how the inadequate critical infrastructure exposed by Storm Darragh in December, and more recently by Storm Éowyn in January, amplifies “the council’s calls over many years to accelerate investment and action on climate adaptation”.
It adds: “The fingerprints of climate change are increasingly evident in the intensifying magnitude and frequency of certain extreme events [in Ireland], particularly heavy rainfall and heatwaves”.
Last year was the warmest year globally ever, and the fourth warmest year in Ireland.
The report details the disruption and impact for people, places and nature in Ireland caused by Storms Isha, Bert and Darragh, which brought strong winds, high rainfall and extensive flood damage.
Éowyn set an all-time record with sustained hurricane-force winds of 142km/h and gusts of 184km/h. This resulted in 768,000 premises without power, more than 200,000 without water, a million telecom customers without broadband or phone coverage and widespread agricultural damage.
“The time to act is now. Government cannot procrastinate any longer,” Prof Thorne said. “Proactive action can and must improve our preparedness for and response to rapidly emerging climate risks, to protect and support people and future-proof our communities. This must be underpinned by robust climate data and services.”
He added: “The council has highlighted the inadequacy of Ireland’s approach to address our changing climate over many years ... we have consistently called for investment and legislation to address the vulnerability and lack of resilience within our critical infrastructure and services in coping with extreme climate events.”
