Temperatures of up to 26C expected as warm spell continues

Buster the Bichon cooling off with a 99 ice cream in Westport on Tuesday. Picture: Paul Mealey

Ireland is set for a sweltering few days leading into the June bank holiday — with Wednesday and Thursday set to see highs of 26C.

Tuesday was the warmest day of the year so far, with Met Éireann's boffins recording a temperature of 24.9C at Shannon Airport.

The west of the country saw the best conditions overall, as Roscommon, Mayo, Galway, Valentia Island and West Cork all saw highs of 22C or above.

It is set to be a similar situation over the next few days as we move in to June.

Met Éireann's latest prediction for Wednesday is that it will be another largely sunny, warm day, particularly for those in the west.

Top temperatures will range from 18C to 25C or 26C, with a note that it will be "warmest further west away from Irish Sea coasts".

High pressure will continue to dominate the island on Thursday, bringing more sun — and another high temperature prediction of 26C on the western half of the island from Met Éireann.

Looking ahead further to the bank holiday, the latest forecast reads: "Little change is expected with high pressure positioned near Ireland bringing a continuation of the sunny settled weather.

"Afternoon highs will generally range from 18C to 25C, warmest further west, away from Irish Sea coasts in mostly light easterly breezes."

However, with the extended sunshine comes a UV Index warning from Met Éireann.

The conditions will reach 6-7 on their scale - with the public urged to follow the 5 S's of skin safety as a result:

• Slop on broad-spectrum (UVA/UVB) sunscreen: Apply sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 30+ for adults and 50+ for children
• Slip on clothing: Cover skin as much as possible, wear long sleeves, collared t-shirts, clothes made from close-woven material that does not allow sunlight through.
• Seek shade: Sit in the cover of trees to avoid direct sunlight. Use a sunshade on your buggy or pram. Keep babies and children out of direct sunlight.
• Slide on sunglasses: Guard your eyes against harm by wearing sunglasses with UV protection.
• Slap on a wide-brimmed hat: Protect your face, ears and neck.

Meanwhile, water shortage notices have begun early this year as parts of West Cork fall victim to unusually dry conditions.

Uisce Éireann warned homeowners in Clonakilty and surrounding townlands that there would be restrictions of night-time use of water between 11pm and 7am until Friday due to high demand for water combined with low rainfall.

The situation will be reviewed on Friday, the body formerly known as Irish Water said.