diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index efe54fd..5a1e833 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ dependencies = [
     "netCDF4",
     "cftime",
     "dask",
+    "distributed>=2024.0.0",
     "pyyaml",
     "tqdm",
     "requests",
diff --git a/src/access_moppy/base.py b/src/access_moppy/base.py
index e8f9c92..b2c2930 100644
--- a/src/access_moppy/base.py
+++ b/src/access_moppy/base.py
@@ -4,8 +4,10 @@
 from typing import Any, Dict, List, Optional, Union
 
 import netCDF4 as nc
+import psutil
 import xarray as xr
 from cftime import num2date
+from dask.distributed import get_client
 
 from access_moppy.utilities import (
     FrequencyMismatchError,
@@ -275,6 +277,89 @@ def write(self):
                 f"Missing required CMIP6 global attributes for filename: {missing}"
             )
 
+        # ========== Memory Check ==========
+        # This section estimates the data size and compares it against available memory
+        # to prevent out-of-memory errors during the write operation.
+
+        def estimate_data_size(ds, cmor_name):
+            total_size = 0
+            for var in ds.variables:
+                vdat = ds[var]
+                # Start with the size of a single element (e.g., 4 bytes for float32)
+                var_size = vdat.dtype.itemsize
+                # Multiply by the size of each dimension to get total elements
+                for dim in vdat.dims:
+                    var_size *= ds.sizes[dim]
+                total_size += var_size
+            # Apply 1.5x overhead factor for safe memory estimation
+            return int(total_size * 1.5)
+
+        # Calculate the estimated data size for this dataset
+        data_size = estimate_data_size(self.ds, self.cmor_name)
+
+        # Get system memory information using psutil
+        available_memory = psutil.virtual_memory().available
+
+        # ========== Dask Client Detection ==========
+        # Check if a Dask distributed client exists, as this affects how we handle
+        # memory management. Dask clusters have their own memory limits separate
+        # from system memory.
+
+        client = None
+        worker_memory = None  # Memory limit of a single worker
+        total_cluster_memory = None  # Sum of all workers' memory limits
+
+        try:
+            # Attempt to get an existing Dask client
+            client = get_client()
+
+            # Retrieve information about all workers in the cluster
+            worker_info = client.scheduler_info()["workers"]
+
+            if worker_info:
+                # Get the minimum memory_limit across all workers
+                worker_memory = min(w["memory_limit"] for w in worker_info.values())
+
+                # Sum up all workers' memory for total cluster capacity
+                total_cluster_memory = sum(
+                    w["memory_limit"] for w in worker_info.values()
+                )
+
+        except ValueError:
+            # No Dask client exists - we'll use local/system memory for writing
+            pass
+
+        # ========== Memory Validation Logic ==========
+        # This section implements a decision tree based on data size vs available memory:
+
+        if client is not None:
+            # Dask client exists - check against cluster memory limits
+            if data_size > worker_memory:
+                # WARNING: Data fits in total cluster memory but exceeds single worker capacity
+                print(
+                    f"Warning: Data size ({data_size / 1024**3:.2f} GB) exceeds single worker memory "
+                    f"({worker_memory / 1024**3:.2f} GB) but fits in total cluster memory "
+                    f"({total_cluster_memory / 1024**3:.2f} GB)."
+                )
+                print("Closing Dask client to use local memory for writing...")
+                client.close()
+                client = None
+
+            # If data < worker_memory: No action needed, proceed with write
+
+        if data_size > available_memory:
+            # Data exceeds available system memory
+            raise MemoryError(
+                f"Data size ({data_size / 1024**3:.2f} GB) exceeds available system memory "
+                f"({available_memory / 1024**3:.2f} GB). "
+                f"Consider using write_parallel() for chunked writing."
+            )
+
+        # Log the memory status for user awareness
+        print(
+            f"Data size: {data_size / 1024**3:.2f} GB, Available memory: {available_memory / 1024**3:.2f} GB"
+        )
+
         time_var = self.ds[self.cmor_name].coords["time"]
         units = time_var.attrs["units"]
         calendar = time_var.attrs.get("calendar", "standard").lower()