HSE issues advice as heatwave continues

With top temperatures likely to exceed 27C and possibly reach 30C over the next few days, the HSE has issued hot weather advice.

The health authority says the high temperatures could have a “significant effect” on people’s health.

Met Éireann updated its Status Yellow weather warning — it has now been extended to 8pm on Friday night.

It will be another very warm and sunny day today with highs of 24C to 30C.

Tomorrow and Friday will be very warm or hot with top temperatures in the high 20s or reaching 30C.

However, the influence of the high pressure is likely to weaken by the weekend with temperatures sinking to the low 20s.

The HSE says those with heart, respiratory, and serious health problems are more at risk of the effects of very warm weather. Babies and young children are also especially at risk.

The HSE said it is best to avoid getting too hot in the first place and to avoid extreme physical exertion.

Danger symptoms to watch out for in hot weather include feeling faint and dizzy, shortness of breath, vomiting, and/or increasing confusion. It said immediate action must be taken if heatstroke is suspected.

“Remember, heatstroke can kill. It can develop very suddenly, and rapidly lead to unconsciousness. If you suspect someone has heatstroke, call 999 immediately,” advised the HSE.

Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine has issued a condition red forest fire danger rating notice in advance of further heatwave forecasts for the remainder of the week.

Condition red is the highest level and is rare in Ireland. It replaces an orange high fire risk notice that has been in effect since Thursday.

As the temperatures rise, water becomes a problem – reports @ciaranmullooly from Athlone where it's 25C pic.twitter.com/nYgF38ALVV

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) June 26, 2018

Irish Water has warned water restrictions will become unavoidable in the greater Dublin area as demand for water continued to rise.

Already, some areas in Athlone, Kilkenny, Longford, and north Dublin have experienced outages and restrictions and areas in Donegal and Mullingar have been identified as being at risk.