Week set to sizzle as summer takes off

Maria Tracey

In parts of the country it was 29 degrees yesterday and today’s weather is to continue the scorching trend, with temperatures expected to remain in the high 20s.

“The whole country was very warm yesterday, with most regions reaching the 20s by the early morning,” said Met Éireann meteorologist Joanna Donnelly.

“There are risks of isolated showers in the north east today, but it will be another beautiful day.”

Ms Donnelly said while the “exceptional” weather may falter today, the rest of the week will continue to be fine and normal, in line with typical July weather.

There will be sunshine across the country tomorrow, with scattered showers over parts of Leinster and Munster.

Thursday will be bright and dry with rain spreading over Ulster and parts of Connacht and Friday will see some rain in Leinster and Munster.

However, as sun worshippers soak up the heatwave, the Irish Cancer Society is warning people not to take risks, and to remember the Irish complexion is not suited for such weather conditions. “Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Ireland, affecting one-in-eight men and one-in-10 women,” said Irish Cancer Society health promotion officer Anita Murphy yesterday.

“While people take precautions when they are holidaying abroad, they tend to think that they won’t get sunburnt in Ireland. However, in a recent survey, 38% of the population were sunburnt at home.”

She said last weekend’s social highlights, the Oxegen music festival and GAA games, were situations where people acquired permanent skin damage.

“If you get burnt now, it just gets added on to all the other occasions and people don’t release the damage until it’s too late.”

The SunSmart Code recommends:

Cover up with a loose-fitting shirt that has long sleeves.

Use sunscreen with protection factor of 15 or higher.

Put sunscreen on 20 minutes before you go into the sun and every two hours after.

Stay in the shade between 11am and 3pm.