In the hot and challenging summer season we have witnessed high temperatures, droughts, wildfires, floods and landslides. This has made a widespread impact on human health, agriculture, ecosystems and infrastructure which tragically resulted in many deaths.

The widespread record temperatures which occurred over western and Northern Europe this summer were cause by a stationary "blocking" area of high pressure which developed when the jet stream, a band of high level winds which steers weather systems around the globe, was situated much farther to the west and north than usual.

While such weather patterns are not infrequent, the underlying cause for the increased intensity of this type of event is thought to be related to the more rapid warming in Arctic regions compared to the rest of the world, known as Arctic amplification.

This has resulted in a decrease in the temperature difference between the mid-latitudes and the Arctic and a weakening of the circulation between these two regions.

The result is an occasional "stalling" of weather systems where weather patterns linger for longer in the same place and is an example of how weather patterns might be modified in a warmer climate.

The extreme weather events being experienced around the globe are occurring in a warming world, and while human influence on the climate is well established, attributing or linking specific extreme weather events with man-made climate change is complex as no one weather event has a single cause.

Many attribution studies have found that the probability of extreme events has increased because of higher temperatures caused by human related greenhouse gas emissions.

It is now becoming possible using advanced computing systems to provide rapid attribution information for certain events within a few days of an event, such as Met Éireanns Phoenix Park weather station which has estimated that the recent heatwave over Ireland has been made twice as likely because of climate change. Met Éireanns immediate role in extreme weather events is to provide accurate observations, climatological analysis, forecasts and warnings to protect human life and property.

ireland is the second worst performing EU member state in tackling climate change.