This year's Christmas Eve in Northern Ireland was the warmest on record. On Tuesday afternoon, thermometers on the Magilligan Peninsula in the northwest of the country showed a record high of 14.3 degrees Celsius.
On December 24, 1942, 13.9 degrees Celsius was recorded in the southern city of Armagh, which was considered the highest temperature for that day in Northern Ireland's history. On Tuesday this year, thermometers in Magilligan showed 14.3 degrees Celsius – reported the Met Office government meteorological agency for this country. This means that the record from over 80 years ago has been broken.
For many residents, this was quite a surprise, because this year's average air temperature in December was around 7.5 degrees Celsius.
According to scientists, the Christmas anomaly is another visible result of climate change progressing from year to year.
“Winters are getting warmer in this region.”
According to Climate Central, an organization that analyzes climatological data, global warming has made the probability of a warm winter like this year in Northern Ireland several times higher.
– Unusual temperature values ​​in Great Britain and Ireland during Christmas are a visible trace of climate change. Winters in this region are becoming warmer, said Kristina Dahl from Climate Central in an interview with the BBC.
Already – according to the organization's data – due to greenhouse gas emissions and the burning of fossil fuels, which have the greatest impact on the climate, there are an additional 11 days with temperatures above zero each year in Great Britain.
Main photo source: Steve Nimmons / Shutterstock.com – photo illustrative