English: The emerald-green island of Ireland was surrounded by cloud and touched by fog on August 26, 2021, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired this true-color image. A large bank of marine stratocumulus cloud stretches over the North Atlantic Ocean to the north and west of Ireland and even curls into the northern Irish Sea, with sits between Ireland and England. In the southern section of the Irish Sea, another bank of cloud appears to have a finer grain and slightly gray color—both features that are suggestive of low cloud (fog).

According to Irish Weather Online, on August 26 the trend for warm, dry, and sunny weather across Ireland continued, with an early morning fog or mist giving way to hazy sunshine in the north, except for a few outer coastal districts. High temperatures pushed 27˚C (80˚F) in some parts of the country, with the midlands carrying the warmest weather.

The lush green vegetation that gives Ireland its famous verdant color comes from abundant rainfall. Ireland receives between 750 and 2000 millimeters (29 and 78 inches) of rain per year, with more rain falling in the west and in the mountains. Most of the rain falls in light showers and the moist climate means an abundance of clouds and fog.