LAST UPDATE | 9 Jul

A STATUS YELLOW high temperature warning has been issued for 12 counties as the weekend is set to be a scorcher. 

The warning is set to be in place from 1pm Friday to 7am on Sunday for Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath, Wexford, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford.

Maximum temperatures will exceed 27 degrees with overnight minimums above 15 degrees, Met Éireann said this morning as it issued the warning.

It looks like Cork will be the first of many counties to experience a heatwave over the next week, as temperatures are expected to stay in the mid to high 20s across Ireland.

Met Éireann said this weekend could bring “tropical” nights, with warm and humid conditions forecast.

“There are some weak weather fronts just to the north and west, bringing a little more cloud there at times over the coming days, but later in the weekend they’ll move away and all of the country is going to bask in sunshine,” forecaster Deirdre Lowe told RTÉ Radio 1 this morning.

The hot and humid weather is to continue “until next Thursday at least”.

An easterly breeze on Sunday and Monday will keep the east coast “a little bit fresher”, with temperatures likely to be in the lower 20s, before rising again on Wednesday.

Towards the end of next week, some parts of the country, especially in the midlands, could reach 30 degrees, said Lowe.

To have prolonged warm spells like this is quite unusual, and we should make the most of it.

The HSE meanwhile has reminded the public of the need to make “sun safety a priority” and that when the UV Index is three or above, everyone should take steps to protect their skin and eyes.

It noted that skin cancer is the most common cancer in Ireland, with more than 11,000 cases diagnosed each year, but that most skin cancers can be prevented by adopting simple sun protection behaviours.

The actions include wearing wide-brimmed hates, applying sunscreen, wearing sunglasses, and seeking shade between 11am and 3pm, when UV radiation is at its strongest.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) also called for road users to exercise caution.

It urged drivers to look out for vulnerable road users and to reduce the risk from sun glare by wearing sunglasses.

The RSA also reminded pedestrians and cyclists to be wary of sun glare and warned that there can be a spike in pedestrian and cyclist casualties over the summer months and the warmer weather brings more people onto the roads. 

Azores high

Lowe explained that the ridge of high pressure over Ireland, which came from an anticyclone over the Azores, can be slow to move away.

“Places like London are getting these kinds of temperatures all the time, whereas we’re more used to a temperate climate,” she said.

“But once the Azores high builds over Ireland, and we get a southerly airflow or an easterly airflow, we are guaranteed good weather.”

A heatwave will be declared in Cork today if temperatures surpass 25 degrees.

Many parts of the country will experience heatwave conditions over the weekend and into next week.

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From tomorrow, high pressure is expected to shift to the north of Ireland, with support from the upper air pattern. Met Éireann said this will allow temperatures to increase, and the sunshine to become more widespread.

“Peak maxima” will occur in the west on Sunday, after a “tropical” Saturday night in places.

Hottest June on record

The surge of heat has also spread across Western Europe, with Spain, Portugal and France already sweltering

Meanwhile, the hot temperatures come on the back of Western Europe recording its hottest June on record.

The average temperature in Western Europe reached 20.74 degrees in June, more than 3 degrees above the 1991-2020 norm, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. It broke the region’s previous record set in June 2025.

The heatwave seen last month would have been “virtually impossible” 50 years ago, one rapid attribution study found. The World Weather Attribution Group of scientists found that even as recently as the 2003 heatwave in Europe, daytime heat at the levels seen on the three hottest days of last month would have been 10 times less likely.

Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, and changes in atmospheric circulation are fuelling more frequent and more intense heatwaves on the continent.

June was particularly brutal for Europe as a “heat dome” – a high-pressure system acting like a lid on a boiling pot – led to all-time and monthly temperature records in several countries.

More than two-thirds of Europeans – 410 million people – endured temperatures topping 35 degrees during the June 15-30 heatwave, according to an AFP analysis.

With additional reporting from Kate Henshaw and AFP © AFP 2026