'Europe feels the heat – the power sector and extreme weather', WWF's latest report, analyses how temperatures have changed in 16 European capitals since the 1970s. The report shows that temperatures in Dublin have risen by 0.7°C and that temperatures in London have risen by 2.0°C. The temperature increase in London is one of the most significant in Europe.

Similar research on data collected at Aldergrove, from 1970 to 2004, shows that Northern Ireland has seen a warming trend very similar to that of Dublin. This suggests that although our temperature changes aren't as high as Luxembourg, Madrid, Athens and London, it still appears to be getting hotter.

The build up of greenhouse gases, in particular CO2, in the atmosphere are partly to blame. Predictions suggest that extreme weather events such as the 2003 heatwave will be twice as likely to occur and have more devastating effects. The summer of 2003 is believed to be the hottest in Europe for the past 500 years and the severe weather conditions claimed around 40,000 lives.

UTV weather presenter Frank Mitchell says, "Climate change is going to make our climate a lot more unpredictable than usual. We can expect to see more floods, heatwaves and droughts in our summers if global warming continues to be unchecked."

"We often think of extreme weather as freaks of nature but this latest report shows that this is no longer the case – but that there are real trends emerging. Here in Northern Ireland we are likely to see not only hotter weather in the future but also wetter weather so not only do we face the possibility of heat waves but also floods and sea level rise due to artic ice melting. Each one of us needs to take action to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels by using energy efficient appliances such as fridges and light bulbs and by buying your electricity from a renewable source," said Malachy Campbell, Policy Officer at WWF Northern Ireland.