Windspeed
An increase in the intensity of extreme wind storms is expected.
Projections indicate a decrease in wind speeds for summer and increases for winter.
Observed change
- No long-term trend in wind speed can be determined with confidence based on the limited analysis carried out to date with Irish observations.
- Evidence for historical windstorms at a European scale is assessed to be highly uncertain, but there is evidence that peak storm wind speeds have been decreasing.
Projected change
- Projections at a European scale suggest a reduction in mean wind speed but an increase in variability.
- Clustering of windstorms will increase in many areas of Europe over coming decades.
- Projections indicate a decrease in the numbers of less intense storms for Ireland with an increase in more intense storms which are rare events. However, due to a limited number of studies, these projections should be considered with a high level of caution.
Resources
Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment Volume 1: Climate Science- Ireland in a Changing World 2024, Noone et al.: climate observations report
Climate status report for Ireland 2020, Camaro & Dwyer: climate observations report
Ireland’s Climate Change Assessment Volume 1: Climate Science- Ireland in a Changing World 2024, Noone et al.: climate projections report
High-resolution Climate Projections for Ireland - A Multi-model ensemble approach 2020, Nolan & Flanagan: climate projections report