Heat warning in Ireland as sunny weather continues

The sun shining on Ballygally in County Antrim on Friday

A high temperature warning is in effect across the Republic of Ireland.

It will remain until 06:00 local time on Monday. A yellow heat alert is currently in place for the provinces of Leinster and Munster.

On Friday, the Republic of Ireland saw the hottest day on record for August when a temperature of 31.7C was recorded at Oak Park in County Carlow.

Meanwhile, a thunderstorm warning has been issued for Northern Ireland from noon on Sunday to 06:00 BST on Monday.

The Met Office has warned of the potential for flooding, damage, and disruption during this period.

The service said up to 20-30mm of rain was possible within an hour, and up to 50mm in three to six hours. Hail and frequent lightning strikes are likely during this time.

A farmer in County Wexford had to create a fire break after 30 acres of land became engulfed in flames.

Speaking to Irish broadcaster RTÉ farmer Paddy Walsh said "farmers have tankers of water ready to go" and must be vigilant.

The wildfire took hours to bring under control and was attended by six fire appliances and two water tankers from Wexford and Wicklow.

Hosepipe bans have been introduced across England as a result of low-water levels and tinder-dry conditions.

However, there are no plans to introduce similar restrictions in Northern Ireland, according to a senior manager in Northern Ireland Water.

"There are no concerns about our storage of raw water at the minute," Maynard Cowsley told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme.

He added that the company's reservoirs currently have a storage of 73%.

"All we're asking people to do at the minute is think carefully when they go to use water."

• In pictures: Hot weather across Northern Ireland

A climate scientist has warned that the high temperatures being experienced in Northern Ireland this weekend fit with the pattern of predicted climate change that experts have warned of for decades.

Professor Paul Dunlop from Ulster University said extreme weather would have consequences for food production and flooding.

He added that we will have to deal with temperatures like these more often as the effects of climate change are felt.

"This is the future for our part of the world - hotter weather, more extreme temperatures, drier climate," he said.

"And then we can also get very intense rainfall because hot air can hold more moisture and if we get very intense rainfall after very prolonged dry weather we get floods because the soil can't absorb the water quick enough."

On Friday, Northern Ireland will be very warm to hot across most areas with the maximum temperature expected to reach 29C.

Temperatures peaked at 28.5C on Thursday at Katesbridge in County Down, beating Wednesday's high and making it the hottest August day in Northern Ireland in nearly 20 years.

BBC NI Weather presenter Cecilia Daly said: "Despite such a high daytime temperature on Thursday, temperatures fell away on Thursday night and the lowest temperature recorded on Friday morning was also at Katesbridge with an overnight minimum of 5.6C.

"This is a very large diurnal range and in some ways is an indicator of how dry the ground is in this area.

"The heat will continue to build today and tomorrow and this heatwave is expected to peak on Saturday with a shift in the highest temperature values towards the west - close to 29C on Friday and possibly close to 30C on Saturday."

She added: "As always it will be cooler at the beaches, though the sun is still just as strong

"Sunday will see the start of a change with a risk of showers later in the day and next week temperatures will tumble and a cool northerly breeze will set in."

Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency is continuing to warn people to take care in the sun and to spend time in the shade between 11am and 3pm.

NI Water has said it is not introducing any restrictions such as a hosepipe ban, but added that the situation is being "closely monitored".

"The demand for water has been increasing steadily over the past number of days and we expect it to continue to increase over the weekend in line with the high temperatures," the company's Des Nevin said.

"The amount of water in our impounding reservoirs is kept under continuous review and we are content with our current level of storage.

"However, it is imperative that customers continue to use water wisely, especially given the forecast for the next number of days."

He added: "All this hot, dry weather may have our lawns looking a bit brown and it's tempting to turn on the sprinkler, but a sprinkler can use as much as 1,000 litres of clean drinking water in a single hour, more than a family of four would use in a whole day.

"Lawns are great survivors and with the next rain they will soon bounce back.

"While it is tempting, please avoid using swimming or paddling pools. Filling a 12ft swimming pool uses the same amount of water 500 people use for daily handwashing."

Lifeguard Supervisor Stuart Montgomery told BBC's Evening Extra programme there had been 10 serious rescues on north coast beaches this week.

Northern Ireland's Public Health Agency is continuing to warn people to take care in the sun

The hot weather has seen large crowds of young people gathering at Crawfordsburn beach in County Down.

On Wednesday evening, five police officers were injured after going to the area to investigate reports of anti-social behaviour.

Elsewhere, large areas of England are expected to be declared in drought from the National Drought Group.

Yorkshire Water has announced its first hosepipe ban in 27 years and joins South East, Southern and Welsh Water in enforcing restrictions

A four-day extreme heat amber warning is in place for parts of England and Wales, with temperatures forecast to hit 37C (99F).

The MET Office is also warning of an "exceptional" risk of fires spreading over the weekend.