The fourth named storm of the 2024-2025 season, Storm Darragh struck Ireland and the UK last week (6th and 7th of December), bringing hurricane-force winds exceeding 160 km/h and heavy rainfall. The storm caused widespread power outages, affected nearly 400,000 homes in Ireland and 130,000 households in the UK , along with significant transportation disruptions. Rare red weather warnings were issued by the Met Office, to highlight the storm’s potential for structural damage and danger to life.

Research by ClimaMeter found that windstorms similar to Storm Darragh are more intense with up to 2 hP deeper, up to 4 km/h (5%) windier over the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and France, and up to 5mm/day (up to 10%) wetter in the present than they would have been in the past. According to the researchers (Alberti, T., Ginesta, M., Pons, F. M. E., & Faranda, D. (2024)) Storm Darragh was an event driven by very exceptional meteorological conditions whose characteristics can be ascribed to human driven climate change.

As extreme weather events continue to rise as the planet warms, the chief executive of the independent Climate Change Committee, Emma Pinchbeck, warned that Britain is not prepared for severe weather conditions, such as Storm Darragh. Essential infrastructures were unable to withstand the stormy conditions, causing widespread power outages and disrupted travel. “We’re off track against where we should be – and that’s things like flood defences, or are our houses built on flood plains?” she explained to Laura Kuenssberg on the BBC.

Pinchbeck called for immediate adaptations to homes and communities, “regardless of what you think we should do in terms of reducing emissions”.