The entire island of Ireland will be under weather warnings, as forecasters said a record temperature could be “challenged”.
The Republic of Ireland has been under a status yellow high temperature warning since midday on Tuesday, as a plume of extremely hot air that brought temperatures in excess of 40C to Europe moved towards the island.
National weather agency Met Éireann extended the warning until 9am on Saturday, after it was originally due to expire on Friday.
It also announced a thunderstorm warning for Donegal, Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon, and Sligo.
It said thunderstorms developing from Thursday and overnight into Friday also came with the risk of “torrential downpours and localised flooding”.
The warning applies to between 3pm on Thursday and 6pm on Friday.
Forecasters said possible impacts include localised flooding, lightning damage, hail, hazardous driving conditions, and gusty winds.
Meanwhile, a separate thunderstorm warning was announced for all of Northern Ireland.
The UK Met Office yellow warning will be in place from midnight until 10am on Friday.
It said heavy showers and thunderstorms may bring disruption in places on Friday morning.
It added that there is a “small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded quickly, with damage to some buildings from floodwater, lightning strikes, hail or strong winds”.
The Met Office also said there is a “slight chance that power cuts could occur” and other services to some homes and businesses could be lost.
More generally, Met Éireann said the high heat also brings water safety issues due to increased use of lakes and beaches, uncomfortable sleeping conditions, heat stress and possible forest fires.
The highest temperature recorded in the Republic of Ireland was 33.3C at Kilkenny Castle on June 26 1887.
Asked if that record could be broken, Met Éireann meteorologist Gerry Murphy said temperatures would be in the high 20s everywhere and potentially into the 30s in the Midlands and Connacht.
He told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland on Thursday morning: “There is potential for the record to be challenged, but it’s not in any way certain that it’s going to be broken”.
Mr Murphy added: “There’s a number of factors.
“The temperatures yesterday in the west didn’t get up as high, because it was a fair amount of clouds, so that means today is not starting at a high base as it might be.
“And secondly, as we go through the day, there are actually thunderstorms off the west coast at the moment, and if the cloud moves in a bit further inland and those thunderstorms begin to develop later, that may keep a cap on the temperature.”
Northern Ireland’s record temperature was 31.3C on July 21 2021 at Castlederg, Co Tyrone.
The UK Met Office said Thursday would be another mainly dry day with some long spells of “hot or very hot sunshine”, although coasts will be a little cooler with onshore breezes developing.
It said there was a risk of the odd shower developing later in the afternoon with a maximum temperature projected at 29C.
The Government of Ireland said the public is advised to stay in the shade, avoid going out or partaking in strenuous activities during the hottest part of the day, drink plenty of fluids, and apply sunscreen to uncovered skin.
Ireland’s climate is projected to get warmer, with average temperature increasing across all seasons and on an annual basis, while the number of heatwaves is also projected to increase.
In its annual climate statement, Met Éireann said Ireland’s overall warming continues in line with the global warming trend, with seven of the top 10 warmest years in the country happening since 2005 and last year being the second warmest year on record.
Further warming means the likelihood of extreme weather events has increased.
Climate change poses risks across all sectors of the economy, society, and environment, from energy, transport and communications to water security, public health, food production and supply and ecosystems.
In addition, the country is set to become wetter overall with an increase in average rainfall.
That rainfall will come as part of increased seasonality, meaning wetter winters and drier summers, with more frequent droughts projected for summer and spring months.
The Environmental Protection Agency also said there will be an increased exposure to coastal flooding with a projected rise in sea levels.
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