Met Éireann predict that the current high temperature will peak tomorrow and possibly break the all-time record.
Met Éireann’s meteorologist Ailís Hankinson said that there is expected to be plenty of sunshine today. Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Hankinson said: "We will see temperatures today getting up to 28 degrees, but really it's tomorrow then where we'll see the peak of the heat. There is the potential for records to be broken on Thursday. The current max temperature record is 33.3 degrees and that was recorded in Kilkenny on 26 of June back in 1887."
Hankinson explained that Connacht could experience 33 degrees on Thursday, with temperatures across the midlands and the west reaching 31 degrees.
Thunderstorms have also been predicted for the coming days. "Now if those thunderstorms do break out with the extra cloud around, we may not see the temperatures getting quite as high but it's all dependent on those thunderstorms when they break out," Hankison said.
"If they break out on Friday then we'll see temperatures starting to cool - not cold by any means - still up in the mid 20s but cooler than Thursday. And then at the weekend we'll see it turning cooler back to the regular Atlantic driven air," she added.
Met Éireann have warned that the exceptionally warm weather could lead to "water safety issues, uncomfortable sleeping conditions and heat stress."
Head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also warned that the extreme hot weather is putting people's health at risk. He said that “Europe’s heatwave is closing schools and putting people’s health at risk. The data are clear: temperatures across Europe are rising at roughly twice the global average rate, increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme heat in the future."
