Ireland just had its warmest spring in at least 126 years

SPRING 2025 WAS the warmest spring Ireland has ever experienced in the 126 years of weather records held by Met Éireann.

Of the top five average temperatures for spring (which covers March, April and May) in those 126 years, four have occurred since 2017 – signalling a pattern of rising seasonal temperatures in line with climate change.

This year’s spring was the first one that was more than two degrees Celsius hotter on average than the average spring temperature of the 20th century.

Met Éireann’s new seasonal climate statement says it was also the sunniest spring on record.

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Most weather stations around the country recorded their highest values for total hours of sunshine in spring.

It was a relatively dry spring, provisionally ranking as the 16th driest since the start of the relevant records in 1941 and the driest since 2020.

Shifting weather patterns around the world and successive record-breaking conditions are evidence of climate change, which is being caused by human activities leading to excessive greenhouse gas emissions that trap heat inside the atmosphere.

Many people will have enjoyed the unusually warm conditions this early in the year – but it’s also a concerning signal of the climate change the world faces, which is on track to escalate in coming years if countries fail to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

The unusual conditions during this spring caused a marine heatwave in Irish waters and drought conditions in numerous parts of the country.

The marine heatwave develop off the west coast in April and May.

Sea surface temperatures reached over two degrees warmer than average in some coastal areas and up to four degrees warmer than average in offshore areas.

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These kinds of marine heatwaves can have major ecological impacts, according to Met Éireann, including coral bleaching, shifts in marine species, harmful algal blooms and disruptions to food chains.

On land, there were numerous instances of what Met Éireann terms “climatological dry periods” during spring 2025.

These are classified as dry spells (a period of 15 or more consecutive days with no days having 1mm or more of precipitation”, an absolute drought (a period of 15 or more consecutive days with no days having 0.2 mm or more of precipitation), or a partial drought (a period of at least 29 consecutive days, the mean daily rainfall of which does not exceed 0.2 mm).

The areas around 11 of Ireland’s weather stations had absolute droughts during spring 2025.

Three had partial droughts and 22 had dry spells. Eight had two dry periods at different times during the season. 

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