Parts of Mayo have “very high exposure” and both Dublin and Galway are among counties most vulnerable to rising sea levels and storm surges due to climate change.
A University College Cork (UCC) team has published the first national map of Ireland’s exposure to climate hazard, providing critical new evidence to support coastal management and climate adaptation.
The team assessed approximately 8,575 km of Ireland’s coastline at 250-metre intervals, bringing together 30 years of wind and wave data with information on sea-level rise, storm surges, shoreline type, coastal relief and natural habitats.
This study has developed the ‘Coastal Exposure Index for Ireland’, which provides, for the first time, a consistent national-scale assessment of exposure around Ireland’s coast and identifies areas where people, cultural heritage and other coastal assets are particularly exposed.
Global mean sea levels are projected to rise by up to 1.1 metres above 1900 levels by 2100. Approximately 40% of Ireland’s population lives within 5 km of the coast and more than 130,000 people live in areas less than five metres above mean sea level.
Researchers have also launched a new interactive online map that the public can use to explore coastal exposure to climate hazards across Ireland and better understand the risks facing coastal areas.
The findings reveal that:
More than 20,000 people in Dublin and 9,971 people in Galway city live within 500 metres of coastline classified as “Very High Exposure”
Sandymount, Blackrock, Clontarf, Sutton and Baldoyle are identified in the study as high exposure areas in Dublin.
Mayo records the greatest extent of “Very High Exposure” (414.5 km), while Galway County has the highest length of both “High Exposure” (330 km) and “Moderate Exposure” (297 km) coastline.
Cork County has Ireland’s greatest length of coastline classified as “Low Exposure” (435 km) and “Very Low Exposure” (485 km), largely reflecting its extensive elevated, rocky shoreline, which is less vulnerable to coastal hazards than low-lying sandy and sedimentary coasts.
Despite Cork’s predominantly lower-exposure coastline, significant areas of “Very High Exposure” remain, particularly around low-lying coastal settlements and embayments, including Castletownbere, Cobh, Garryvoe and Youghal.
The study also reveals the exposure of Ireland’s coastal heritage to climate-related hazards. Raths, promontory forts and ancient coastal burial grounds are among the heritage sites located in areas exposed to coastal erosion, flooding and storm impacts.
In particular the study found:
Of the 8,871 registered cultural heritage sites located within 500 metres of the coast, 1,797, or one in five, are within “Very High Exposure” zones, with many concentrated along the west coast.
Significant exposure is evident in remote areas, including Inishmurray, Co Sligo, where 132 registered monuments are located on the uninhabited island.
The link to the interactive map is here
The link to the research paper is here
