Last year was one of the hottest and also wettest years in Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.

It described 2023 as the second warmest on record for the UK as a whole.

For Northern Ireland it was its respective warmest year in a series from 1884, third wettest year in a series from 1836, and also its wettest year since 2002.

The Met Office said it expects the pattern of high temperature records to continue in the coming years as a result of human-induced climate change.

Autumn weather November 4th 2023
Flooded shops in the town centre after flooding in Downpatrick in November (Peter Morrison/PA)

Last year saw heatwaves in June and September as well as above average temperatures for eight of the 12 months of 2023.

Both Northern Ireland and Wales have now had consecutive warmest years on record, with 2023 topping their previous 2022 records.

Some 1,399.0mm of rain was provisionally recorded by the Met Office for Northern Ireland – 21% more than average.

Some of the heaviest rain came during storms Babet and Ciaran in the autumn which caused flooding across several counties.

Met Office senior scientist Mike Kendon said: “Despite the mild conditions in the year, 2023 had more than its fair share of rain, with impactful storms like Babet and Ciaran also influencing the figures.

Autumn weather October 31st 2023
A car submerged in floodwater at Basin Walk car park in Newry, Co Down, in October (Liam McBurney/PA)

“Climate projections suggest an increase in the frequency of hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters, and we’ve seen a generally warm and wet autumn and start to the 2023/2024 winter.

“Overall, this has been another wet year for the UK with 11% more rainfall than average.

“A warmer atmosphere has a greater capacity to hold moisture, so as our climate warms, we expect it to become wetter too and, while there is a large amount of annual variability, that trend is also apparent in the observations.”