Northern Ireland has been experiencing some of the hottest weather on record over the past week. The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium’s weather station recorded an all-time high for Armagh this week at 30.5 degrees Celsius. This is the highest temperature recorded in the city since records began in 1794.
The Armagh Observatory has been recording daily weather measurements for over 227 years, and it has continued uninterrupted for over two centuries. These records are some of the oldest in the world and provide an invaluable source for climate scientists and historians.
Speaking about the latest weather readings, Prof. Michael Burton from The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium said: “While no single temperature measurement or weather event can be attributed to the effects of climate change, the hottest temperature ever recorded in Armagh on Wednesday 21st July is consistent with the long-term trend of rising temperatures that is seen in the Armagh Observatory data set, that stretches back to the late 18th century. Seven of the ten highest daily temperatures ever measured in Armagh over that long period have occurred over just the past 15 years.”
Manual measurements of the weather are taken every day on site at 9am GMT at the Observatory. The Armagh Observatory and Planetarium holds centuries of valuable archives to discover everything from what the weather was like on any day, to exploring meteorological data from the 1800’s. This information can also be found online at www.armagh.space.
