Irish temperatures could hit 30C early next week as Europe bakes in 40C+ heatwave

Met Éireann says the fine conditions will carry over into next week with plenty of dry and sunny weather to look forward to on Sunday and Monday. Picture: Larry Cummins.

Ireland could see high temperatures of up to 30C early next week with the hot summer weather of the last few days expected to continue.

While Tuesday is expected to be much cooler with some patchy rain or drizzle and highs of just 23C, the rest of the week looks set to be much brighter with strong sunny spells expected and daily temperatures of between 22C and 25C forecast.

Met Éireann says the fine conditions will carry over into next week with plenty of dry and sunny weather expected on Sunday and Monday. The forecaster is predicting the daytime maximum temperatures to reach into the high 20s, even touching 30C in parts.

Meteorologist with Met Éireann, Paul Downes, says we'll see the mercury rise this weekend before peaking on Monday.

"There's definitely potential for the upper 20s, and possibly into the 30s, but it's very early days to say yet, he said.

"A lot can change with this, it really depends on the motion of the low-pressure system itself and how it steers that warm air."

Monday saw the hottest day of the year so far, with highs of 27.7C recorded in Dublin's Phoenix Park. Weather stations in Carlow, Meath and Clare all saw temperatures of at least 25C as well.

Today was the warmest day of the year so far with Phoenix Park in Dublin recording the highest maximum air temperature of 27.7°C 🌡️📈

See the table below for maximum air temperatures recorded today (11 July 2022) at our weather stations across the country 👇 pic.twitter.com/UxFPZCymZ4

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) July 11, 2022

The high temperatures in Ireland are due to warm air coming from Africa. University College Cork's Professor Hannah Daly, an expert in energy systems, told the Irish Examiner that such heatwaves and extreme weather would become increasingly normal as the world warms.

It comes as Europe is on the cusp of a heatwave, with temperatures likely to go above 40C in France and Germany while the south of Spain could see temperatures approaching 50C this week.

Climatologist Professor John Sweeney says we are more likely to see these events occurring in the future due to climate change.

"Even as late as one o'clock in the morning, the temperature in Dublin Airport was still at 20C and it's only gone down to about 17C overnight," Prof. Sweeney said.

"The kinds of events we're seeing now in Europe, this summer in particular, are the kinds of events that are more extreme than we would have had before we started messing up the atmosphere.

They are also events which are going to occur much, much more frequently in the future.

Portugal’s government has declared a state of alert due to a heightened risk of wildfires. Temperatures in the area could reach highs of 43C. The weather brings with it “a significant worsening of the wildfire risk” until July 15, a joint statement from five government departments said.

In Spain, temperatures are forecast to climb to 42C in some areas along the border with Portugal. Italy also recently endured a prolonged heatwave and is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years.

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