People urged to take precautions with heat warning in place in Ireland

Vincent Fitzgibbon with his son Frank and granddaughter Aine home on holidays from Baltimore USA as they shelter from the sun watching St Finbarr's against Glen Rover's in Cork. Picture: Eddie O'Hare

People are being advised to take precautions as a three-day heat warning has come into effect in Ireland.

The Status Yellow alert began at 6am on Sunday and will last until 9pm on Tuesday, with temperatures of up to 32C possible in places on Monday.

The Met Eireann weather warning stated: “On Sunday and Monday exceptionally warm weather will occur over Ireland with daytime temperatures of 25 to 30 degrees and possibly up to 32 degrees in places on Monday.

“Night time temperatures will range from 15C to 20C.” 

Met Eireann said there was an increased risk of heat stress, high solar UV index and water-related incidents.

The public has been urged to conserve water to avoid the need for restrictions during the summer.

Irish Water has said supplies are operating normally and there are no plans to introduce restrictions at this time, but it expects to see an increase in demand for water over the coming weeks which "may put pressure on some supplies."

⚠️UPDATE: Status Yellow - High Temperature warning for Ireland ⚠️

Exceptionally warm weather on Sunday & Monday over Ireland, daytime temperatures of 25°C to 30°C 🌡️

Impacts:
• Heat stress
• High Solar UV index
• Risk of water related incidentshttps://t.co/yz9xhBqJow pic.twitter.com/1wdyd29XGm

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) July 17, 2022

Meanwhile, a man in his 60s died after getting into difficulty while swimming in Portarlington, Co Laois, on Saturday.

The incident happened at around 3.30pm at Derryounce Lake.

The man was taken from the water and brought by ambulance to Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, but was pronounced dead a short time later.

It is the third swimming-related death to have occurred in the past week.

As the heatwave arrived in Ireland, Dublin City Council put contingency plans in place to protect the homeless from extreme temperatures and Irish Water reminded people to be mindful of their water usage.

European wildfires 

Firefighters struggled to contain wildfires raging out of control in France and Spain on Sunday as Europe wilts under an unusually extreme heatwave that authorities have linked to a rise in excess mortality.

Two huge blazes that have been consuming pine forests for six days just south of the city of Bordeaux in south-west France have forced the evacuation of some 14,000 people, including many who were set to spend their holidays at campsites.

In Spain, firefighters supported by the armed forces’ emergency brigades are trying to stamp out more than 30 fires consuming forests spread across the country.