In November 1988 (30 years ago), cold weather set in due to high pressure bringing dry weather. Huge numbers of people in Dublin were lighting up fires using fossil fuels to heat their homes. This led to pollution and heavy smog was an all-time high for the area. At this time, Dublin was thought to be the most smoke-polluted city (or at least one of the most smoke-polluted cities) as Ireland did not adapt to changes which other countries set including Britain which released the Clean Air Act in 1956 to reduce air pollution in response to the Great Smog of December 1952. This smog was most persistent from the 23rd-26th in localised parts of Dublin although there was several instances of it during the month. The image below was Ballyfermot, Co. Dublin on 24th November 1988.
From an article in 2013 that this was posted in:
This dense mixture of smoke and fog – by its very nature thick, polluting and bad for the lungs – had grown to become a huge issue in Dublin by the late 1980s.
Thanks to bituminous (smoky) coal fires burning in the fair city, the resulting smoke and ashes had added up to become an inescapable problem, particularly on cold and windless nights when the smog became trapped under a blanket of warm air (known as a ‘thermal inversion’).
The problem was so bad that in 1989, Deputy Ruairi Quinn spoke of his frustration at the situation, saying that “We have had promises for the future, we have heard all sorts of promises,” about what the Government would do about smog. He questioned who was benefitting from the sale of the coal, and accused the Minister of State with responsibility for environmental protection, Mary Harney, as being “totally negligent in the execution of her duties”, due to political and personal differences with the Minister for the Environment.
She informed him that they were working towards a 1993 deadline, and that the Government was considering a number of options – and urged people who could afford low-smoke fuels to use them.
This high pressure over top of the country produced severe frosts and freezing fog. Under fog, Clones, Co. Monaghan recorded a maximum of only 1.4c on 25th November 1988 which was well below the average for November at around 9c. Birr, Co. Offaly and Mullingar, Co. Westmeath recorded the lowest minimum temperature of the month of -6.9c on the 21st and 24th respectively. Even Valentia Observatory, Co. Kerry had a minimum of -4.0c on 22nd November, its lowest for November since 1919.
Besides the smog and stubborn fog, November 1988 was a very nice month with well below average rainfall (including only 25% of average November rainfall at Casement Aerodrome, Co. Dublin and 57% of average November rainfall at Valentia Observatory) and sunny conditions (including 144% of average November sunshine at Casement Aerodrome) with the exception of Cork. Maximum temperatures weren't far from average but minimum temperatures were more than 1c below average for stations including Casement Aerodrome and Birr.
RTÉ Archives has a news report on the smog of November 1988: https://www.rte.ie/archives/2018/1022/1005890-smog-in-dublin/
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