The Met Éireann Podcast

Last year, Storm Daniel brought devastation to Greece, Turkey & Bulgaria before causing catastrophic loss of life in Libya. Heavy rain and thunderstorms produced more than a month’s worth of rain in a few hours. 

Storm Daniel was what’s known as a medicane, an extreme weather phenomenon that can occur over the Mediterranean Sea. Showing hurricane-like features and packing strong winds and heavy rain, these unique storms may become more intense as our climate warms. 

In this month’s episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, we are exploring how medicanes form, their impacts and the efforts made to understand and forecast them. Presenter Liz Walsh returns to the podcast to explore this topic with Noel, and they are joined by medicane researcher Dr. Florian Papillion, from the National Centre for Scientific Research in Toulouse, France.

Rapid and effective action is required to help mitigate climate change and to help adapt to its impacts. With an ever-increasing number of climate studies showing evidence of ongoing changes and detailing future effects, it’s vital that policy makers and the public have access to clear and concise information.

In this month’s episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, we are exploring the TRANSLATE project; an initiative to provide a unified source of climate information and climate projections for Ireland. Noel is joined by Dr Claire Scannell, physicist and researcher with Met Éireann. Together, they discuss the future climate projections for Ireland, and how the TRANSLATE project can help decision makers to prepare for change and to take steps to avoid the worst impacts.

You can find out more about the TRANSLATE project here: https://www.met.ie/science/translate

Wildfires have occurred on our planet for millions of years, helping bring new growth and diversity to forests and ecosystems. Weather and climate play a central role in wildfire occurrence. Changes to our climate, however, and the effects of human activity, have impacted wildfire patterns, resulting in increased risk of major wildfire events like those seen this summer in Europe, North America and Asia.

In this episode, we are exploring wildfires, how they start, how they spread, how best to tackle and prevent them, and the role played by climate change. Noel first speaks with Dublin fire fighter and wildfire instructor Darren O’Connor on the challenges and science of tackling wildfires and the techniques used to manage the flames. Noel is then joined by Jennifer Baron, wildfire researcher at the University of British Columbia in Canada, to discuss the huge fires they’ve experienced in recent years and how human activity and climate change have impacted their patterns.

The lifeboats of the RNLI have been saving lives in Irish and UK waters since 1824. Almost entirely run by volunteers, the RNLI have rescued over 144,000 lives since founded, often in very challenging conditions.  

In this episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, Noel visits the Sligo Bay Lifeboat station and speaks with the crew on how they carry out their vital work and the impact that weather can have on their operations. Noel is first given a tour of the station by Operations Manager Willie Murphy, and then joins Helm Eithne Davis onboard for a detailed run-through of the lifeboat itself. Noel then sits down with Willie, Eithne and RNLI water safety representative, Tim Doran, to learn more about how rescues are carried out, the training involved and how best to remain safe in or around water.

What causes sunburn? How does UV radiation damage our skin? Can it cause ageing? Who’s most at risk from skin cancer? How does sunscreen work?

In this episode, Noel is joined by Dr Barbara McGrogan and Dr Triona McCarthy of the National Cancer Control Programme. Together they explore the role of sunlight and UV radiation in skin damage and skin cancer and how best to protect ourselves from the most adverse effects.

To learn more about UV damage and protecting your skin, check out: https://www.hse.ie/sunsmart/

The aurora, or northern and southern Lights, can often be seen dancing in the night sky of our polar regions. But in recent months, they have been visible at much lower latitudes. What causes the aurora and why does its activity appear to be increasing? In this episode of the Met Éireann Podcast, Noel is speaking with Dr Sophie Murray, space weather researcher and technical officer with the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Together, they explore the aurora, solar winds, the role of the sun in space weather and the potential for more aurora sightings in the near future.

We have a special crossover episode of the Met Éireann Podcast this month. Noel joins Stefanie Preissner on the Basically podcast for a fun, wide-ranging conversation covering everything from why Ireland gets the weather it does, how weather forecasting works, your chances of getting struck by lightning and what climate change has in store.

Weather radar is one of the most useful tools available to meteorologists or anyone wondering if it is going to rain! From its early beginnings during World War Two, to the advanced equipment used today, weather radar provides vital information for forecasting, severe weather tracking and atmospheric research. 

This month, Noel speaks with radar meteorologist, Sinéad Duffy. Sinéad talks us through how weather radar works, how it was discovered and improved over time and details some of the major upgrades coming soon to the Irish radar network.

Europe’s newest weather satellite launched from the Spaceport in French Guiana on December 13th, 2022. The Meteosat Third Generation-Imager 1 satellite, or MTG-I1, will deliver advanced imagery of our atmosphere and planet, and provide vital information to weather forecasters and climate scientists.

In this month’s episode, we are looking to space and what the future holds for satellite meteorology. Noel reports from the launch event for MTG-I1 at the European Space Agency in the Netherlands, and speaks with some of the scientists and engineers involved in this mission. We then follow along as they count down to lift off. Noel is first joined by Pierre Kokou, instrument engineer with the European Space Agency, to hear about the process of developing the satellite and getting it to the launch pad. He then speaks with Dr. Lothar Schüller, a network manager with EUMETSAT, on the scientific mission of the satellite and what it will mean for scientists, forecasters and society.

The extreme heatwaves and droughts of Summer 2022 affected hundreds of millions of people across the Northern Hemisphere, and although exceptional to us, should they now be expected in a warming climate? Will last summer be considered average or even cool later this century?

In this month’s episode, Noel is speaking with Professor Peter Thorne, a professor in Physical Geography at Maynooth University and the Director of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units group (ICARUS). Professor Thorne is also a Lead Author for the Assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Together, they discuss the current climate path we are on, how individual extreme events can be attributed to climate change, the opportunities presented by climate mitigation and outlooks for the future.