Atypically warm Autumn sets record temperatures in the Celtic nations

The Celtic countries are experiencing an atypically warm Autumn following a long wet Summer, fuelling speculations about climate change.

The Celtic countries are experiencing an atypically warm Autumn following a long wet Summer, fuelling speculations about climate change.

The Irish National Meteorological Service, Met Éireann, has announced that average air temperatures made last November the warmest for 13 years.

Belmullet weather station in Co. Mayo, western Ireland, recorded the warmest month of November since observations started in 1956.

Ireland has had an exceptionally dry and mild Autumn, dominated by areas of high pressure giving mainly dry conditions. Rainfall levels were below the seasonal norm, with only 50 per cent to 75 per cent of the expected levels measured at many stations. Temperatures were two degrees above normal across the country, according to Met Éireann statistics.

Scotland has also been experiencing an unusually warm Autumn, putting 2007 on track to be one of the warmest years ever recorded. The UK Met Office reported that Scotland's average mean temperatures for Autumn were more than 1°C above the norm.

Wales is experiencing a "November Spring" with daffodils flowering in many parts of the country. This Autumn's warm weather is causing an unusual behaviour in nature with spring flowers blooming, breeding birds, and many trees with green leaves still to go into full Autumn colour.

Daffodils are also blooming early in Cornwall. Two plant varieties at the Eden Project are already in bloom almost a month ahead of its typical flowering time. Earlier in September a Caribbean fish had been found off the Cornish coast, which some marine experts interpreted as an effect of the warming of the Atlantic.

The southern Celtic nations also experienced one of the warmest and driest Autumns ever on record.

Brittany had the lowest rain observations at many stations for 40 years. The city of Brest, in the west of the country, had one of the driest seasons in almost 30 years. The city of Nantes had a record 67 per cent less rain than the seasonal average.

The first snowfalls arrived one month later than usual at the Galician highlands after an exceptionally dry and warm Autumn that raised the alarm over unusual low water levels in reservoirs.