Meteorological records at Armagh Observatory extend back to 1795. This is one of the longest instrumental records in existance. The site of the Observatory has remained relatively unchanged over the past 200 years. However, the city of Armagh has grown in that time, and now extends beyond the Observatory into what was once farmland.
With this in mind, an investigation is currently underway to assess the influence, if any, that this urban development has had on the meteorological observations obtained over the past two centuries.
Three climate stations 
have been set up in the countryside around the city, and daily measurements
of maximum and minimum air temperatures,
as well as rainfall and relative humidity, are collected.
The sites for these stations were selected for being as similar to that of the Observatory Climate Station as was possible; whilst still being reasonably accessible. The observations from the rural stations are compared with those from the Observatory on a daily basis. The experiment has been going on since February 1996.
| Last Revised: 23 Jul. 1996 WWW contact: webmaster@star.arm.ac.uk |
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