New climate science feature

 

You can now see how the temperature has changed over the decades in your region via the new Google Climate Science Center. In County Mayo, that's us, the average annual temperature has, according to NOAA figures, increased by about 1.25 degrees. At this rate, we should reach the Galician average from 1950 very soon or may have already reached it. 

From a paper titled 'State of Climate in NW Iberia' August 2011, Climate Research 48(2-3):109-144:

"It is very likely that both maximum and minimum land temperature have increased at the annual scale
since 1974 at a mean rate on the order of 0.5°C/decade. This behaviour is especially marked for
maximum temperature in spring and summer, and for minimum temperature in spring, summer and
autumn."

It's a good thing we are learning how to make wine. We're gonna need it when the heat hits the fan. 

Drought!

I was wondering when we last had rain so I looked it up on Met Eireann.

CLIMATOLOGICAL DROUGHTS AND DRY SPELLS 2020
A partial drought is ongoing at Dublin Airport. The length of this dry period is now at 35 days long with 5.8 mm of rain falling since Wednesday 18 March 2020. Between Wednesday 18 March to Wednesday 1 April 2020, there was 0.0 mm of rainfall recorded every day at that station. Meanwhile new dry spells are ongoing at three stations: 16 days at Claremorris, Co Mayo and 15 days at each of Markree, Co Sligo and Knock Airport, Co Mayo.

We are in County Mayo. We've had to water the garden every day, and it looks like several more days before we get any drops out of the sky. At least the solar-powered fountain has been working well. I hope the vineyard survives this. The rest of the garden is looking pretty fine.

Here's is the full drought statement to date. It's also been quite hot - shorts, T-shirts and flip flops weather. Lots of butterflies and bumblebees. But no honey bees. 

https://www.met.ie/cms/assets/uploads/2020/04/20200421_drought.pdf