TEMPERATURES ALMOST REACHED 20 degrees yesterday in some areas, well above average for November, but not record-breaking levels.

According to Met Éireann, highs of 19.1 degrees Celsius were recorded in Dublin and Donegal. The highest temperature ever recorded in November was 20.1C in Kerry in 2015.

So far, Met Éireann data show that the mean temperatures for the month of November are around 11C, about 3C higher than normal. 

It comes as EU climate monitor Copernicus has said that this year is “virtually certain” to be the hottest in recorded history with warming above 1.5C.

According to Aoife Kealy, a meteorologist with Met Éireann, the higher temperatures are due to the jet stream – a current of air that moves around the globe – remaining in position north of Ireland in recent weeks.

“I suppose the general idea is usually this time of year the jet stream will sink further south, and when it does start to move south it allows colder air to move in from the north,” she said.

But the jet stream has been position to the north of us and had held the colder polar temperatures at bay and allowed milder air to move across the country from the south.

Kealy said that the mild weather will continue into next week, but that Monday and Tuesday will begin to see a freshening of temperatures. 

While it is difficult to attribute individual weather events to a changing climate, on average warmer weather is being seen more often as a result of rising global temperatures. These are linked to human-made climate change.

COP 29 will kick off in Azerbaijan next week. The annual climate conference is a gathering of tens of thousands of world leaders, diplomats, and civil servants along with activists, NGOs and observers to try to forge progress on battling the climate crisis.

The Journal’s Lauren Boland will be in Azerbaijan next week to cover COP 29 and will be sending daily editions of our climate newsletter Temperature Check – you can sign up for it here.