Last year, Storm Daniel brought devastation to Greece, Turkey & Bulgaria before causing catastrophic loss of life in Libya. Heavy rain and thunderstorms produced more than a month’s worth of rain in a few hours.  Storm Daniel was what’s known as a medicane, an extreme weather phenomenon that can occur over the Mediterranean Sea. Showing hurricane-like features and packing strong winds and heavy rain, these unique storms may become more intense as our climate warms.  In this month’s...

Rapid and effective action is required to help mitigate climate change and to help adapt to its impacts. With an ever-increasing number of climate studies showing evidence of ongoing changes and detailing future effects, it’s vital that policy makers and the public have access to clear and concise information. In this month’s episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, we are exploring the TRANSLATE project; an initiative to provide a unified source of climate information and climate projections for...

Wildfires have occurred on our planet for millions of years, helping bring new growth and diversity to forests and ecosystems. Weather and climate play a central role in wildfire occurrence. Changes to our climate, however, and the effects of human activity, have impacted wildfire patterns, resulting in increased risk of major wildfire events like those seen this summer in Europe, North America and Asia. In this episode, we are exploring wildfires, how they start, how they spread, how best...

The lifeboats of the RNLI have been saving lives in Irish and UK waters since 1824. Almost entirely run by volunteers, the RNLI have rescued over 144,000 lives since founded, often in very challenging conditions.   In this episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, Noel visits the Sligo Bay Lifeboat station and speaks with the crew on how they carry out their vital work and the impact that weather can have on their operations. Noel is first given a tour of the station by Operations Manager Willie...

What causes sunburn? How does UV radiation damage our skin? Can it cause ageing? Who’s most at risk from skin cancer? How does sunscreen work? In this episode, Noel is joined by Dr Barbara McGrogan and Dr Triona McCarthy of the National Cancer Control Programme. Together they explore the role of sunlight and UV radiation in skin damage and skin cancer and how best to protect ourselves from the most adverse effects. To learn more about UV damage and protecting your skin, check...

The aurora, or northern and southern Lights, can often be seen dancing in the night sky of our polar regions. But in recent months, they have been visible at much lower latitudes. What causes the aurora and why does its activity appear to be increasing? In this episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, Noel is speaking with Dr Sophie Murray, space weather researcher and technical officer with the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Together, they explore the aurora, solar winds, the role of the...

We have a special crossover episode of the Met Éireann Podcast this month. Noel joins Stefanie Preissner on the Basically podcast for a fun, wide-ranging conversation covering everything from why Ireland gets the weather it does, how weather forecasting works, your chances of getting struck by lightning and what climate change has in store.

Weather radar is one of the most useful tools available to meteorologists or anyone wondering if it is going to rain! From its early beginnings during World War Two, to the advanced equipment used today, weather radar provides vital information for forecasting, severe weather tracking and atmospheric research.  This month, Noel speaks with radar meteorologist, Sinéad Duffy. Sinéad talks us through how weather radar works, how it was discovered and improved over time and details some of the...

Europe’s newest weather satellite launched from the Spaceport in French Guiana on December 13th, 2022. The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager 1 satellite, or MTG-I1, will deliver advanced imagery of our atmosphere and planet, and provide vital information to weather forecasters and climate scientists. In this month’s episode, we are looking to space and what the future holds for satellite meteorology. Noel reports from the launch event for MTG-I1 at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands,...

The extreme heatwaves and droughts of Summer 2022 affected hundreds of millions of people across the Northern Hemisphere, and although exceptional to us, should they now be expected in a warming climate? Will last summer be considered average or even cool later this century? In this month’s episode, Noel is speaking with Professor Peter Thorne, a professor in Physical Geography at Maynooth University and the Director of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units group (ICARUS). Professor...

Dr Heïdi Sevestre is one of the world's leading voices on the need to protect our planet's cold places and the damage being caused by climate change. In this episode, Heïdi and Noel discuss her recent expeditions to the Arctic, Greenland and Andes, surviving severe storms and polar bear encounters, and joining the world's best climbers to help carry out research in extreme locations. Heïdi and Noel also discuss the importance of science communication and the need for climate scientists to...

The Met Éireann Podcast is back with a brand new season. Episode 1 is coming very soon!

Dr. Padraig Flattery is back to take us through the latest instalment of the IPCC's sixth report which focuses on the steps we need to take to avoid the worst effects of climate change.

Dr. Padraig Flattery from Met Éireann's climate services discusses the top 10 messages from a recent IPCC report on the impact climate change is having on the planet.

Archaeoastronomer Dr. Frank Prendergast joins Noel to talk about the relationship between people in our prehistoric past and the sky above them, particularly how structures they built, such as burial tombs and ritual sites, align with solar cycles and even clusters of stars.

Noel and Liz discuss the advancements that will help to predict our weather in the future including the new UWC supercomputer in Iceland.

In this bumper Xmas edition, senior climatologist Keith Lambkin gives us a round-up of what happened at COP26 and meteorologist Paul Moore joins us to discuss Storm Barra and what lies ahead weather wise this winter.

Dr. John Hanley is a climate scientist at Met Éireann and in this episode he highlights some of the latest findings on climate change as well as the key objectives of COP26, which he will be attending.

Noel and Liz speak to members of the Galway Mountain Rescue Team and one of the pilots of Rescue 118 to find out how weather impacts these vital services.

This month we're exploring the basic science of how plants grow, the risks weather poses to our crops, how climate change may affect food production, and we also get some tips from the experts for those of us growing food at home.

Most of us live far from the coldest parts of the world, so why should we be concerned by the loss of the earth's ice? Featuring interviews with glaciologists working in the Alps and Greenland, this episode explores the importance of ice to the health of our planet.

Dr. Rachel Lowe Associate Professor at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, explains how climate influences the behaviour of disease vectors, the impact of climate change on ecological systems and if Covid-19 is affected by the weather.

Weather has an impact on everything from economic activity to energy consumption. Being able to spot potential problems or opportunities caused by our weather is really important.

In this month’s episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, Liz and Noel are investigating these weather sayings to separate fact from fiction. From red skies at night to cows lying down, we hear about how these sayings may have developed and if they have a meteorological leg to stand on!