For Northern Ireland it was its respective warmest year in a series from 1884, third wettest year in a series from 1836, and also its wettest year since 2002. The Met Office said it expects the pattern of high temperature records to continue in the coming years as a result of human-induced climate change. Both Northern Ireland and Wales have now had consecutive warmest years on record, with 2023 topping their previous 2022 records. Some 1,399.0mm of rain was provisionally recorded by the Met Office for Northern Ireland – 21% more than average. Some of the heaviest rain came during storms Babet and Ciaran in the autumn which caused flooding across several counties.

Source: The Herald January 02, 2024 16:24 UTC