Overview
- Met Éireann confirmed in early June that a late‑May heat spell pushed maximum May temperatures up by more than 2°C, with multiple stations recording around 30.6–30.9°C.
- Highest readings of 30.9°C were measured at Abbeyfeale (Co Limerick) and Clonmel (Co Tipperary), with 30.8–30.7°C at several other south and east stations.
- The forecaster identified an intense area of high pressure — a heat dome — combined with an unseasonably hot tropical airmass as the direct cause of the late‑May surge.
- Met Éireann reported that Spring 2026 was the third‑warmest on record with a mean temperature of 10.14°C and noted a strong west/east rainfall split, with the south and east drier than average.
- A rapid attribution study, supported by Met Éireann, found the May single‑day extremes were not possible without human‑caused warming, and experts warn more frequent heat events raise clear health and infrastructure risks.