Rainfall intensities to enhance resilience in support of climate change adaptation in Ireland
- Climate Services, Met Éireann, Dublin, Ireland (barry.coonan@met.ie)
The climate of Ireland is changing. Extreme rainfall events are responsible for major socio-economic impacts and can be hazardous to life. Short-duration and intense localised rainfall events can cause severe flooding. Estimating the return levels of rainfall thresholds for specific return periods has diverse applications, such as informing the design criteria for drainage schemes, sewerage systems, bridges, gutters, and fluvial flood mitigation measures.
The goal of this research was to calculate return values for various return periods from 2 to 120 years and for specific rainfall durations ranging from 15 minutes to 25 days based on the depth-duration-frequency model described by Fitzgerald (2007), but with a denser network of stations with up-to-date data.
Estimates of rainfall intensities were produced for use in building design in support of Action 203 of Ireland’s Climate Action Plan 2021 - Develop specific climate maps and data for use in building design to enhance resilience in support of climate change adaptation and to support the National Adaptation Framework. This project was carried out by Met Éireann under its strategy ‘Making Ireland Weather and Climate Prepared’ and funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
The outputs of this research will benefit a wide range of stakeholders currently collaborating with Met Éireann, such as the National Standards Authority of Ireland, the Office of Public Works and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage’s building standards team. This report will also inform policy in delivering key national infrastructure such as housing and building renovation. The results will also be of interest to a diversity of sectors, planners and policy makers to make long, lasting and climate sensitive decisions.
References
Fitzgerald, D. L. 2007. Estimation of point rainfall frequencies. Technical Note no. 61. Dublin: Met Éireann. http://hdl.handle.net/2262/70546
Mateus, C., and Coonan, B. 2023. Estimation of point rainfall frequencies in Ireland. Technical Note No. 68. Dublin: Met Éireann. http://hdl.handle.net/2262/102417
How to cite: Mateus, C. and Coonan, B.: Rainfall intensities to enhance resilience in support of climate change adaptation in Ireland, EMS Annual Meeting 2023, Bratislava, Slovakia, 4–8 Sep 2023, EMS2023-474, https://doi.org/10.5194/ems2023-474, 2023.
