Maynooth climate resesrch project awarded €600,000 by Met Eireann
Met Eireann has invested €600,000 in a Maynooth-based research project designed to strengthen Ireland’s ability to understand and prepare for climate extremes.
Extremes Across Climates and Timeframes (EXACT), is led by Prof Conor Murphy of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units (ICARUS) with collaborators Dr Amr Mahfouz of the Maynooth University School of Business and Prof Peter Thorne of ICARUS.
The project will combine Ireland’s extensive historical climate records with Met Éireann’s Translate climate projections to assess how events such as floods, droughts, and other climate extremes have changed over time. It will also assess how their likelihood may evolve under different climate change scenarios.
EXACT will also focus on events where multiple climate hazards occur together or in close succession, such as heavy rainfall following drought, or concurrent heatwaves and dry conditions – which often lead to more severe impacts. These are known as compound extremes.
A central innovation of the project is the development of causal chains that trace the drivers of past extremes and connect them to future risks. These insights will inform the creation of clear, evidence-based climate storylines that link hazard, vulnerability, and impact – helping planners, communities, and sectors better understand and adapt to complex climate risks. These storylines will make scientific information more accessible and actionable, supporting informed decision-making for climate adaptation across sectors.
Prof Murphy said: “With climate extremes becoming more frequent and complex, there is an urgent need to understand not just how these events are changing, but how they impact people, places, and sectors across Ireland. Through EXACT, we aim to bridge scientific research and practical decision-making by developing accessible storylines of past and future extremes. These will help support climate services, guide adaptation, and ultimately contribute to building a more climate-resilient Ireland.”
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