Ireland hotter than Hawaii...
Appeal to keep animals cool
IRISH Water yesterday urged people not to waste water as the sun bakes Ireland all week.
A Drought Management Team is in place to monitor supplies of H2O across the country with Westmeath, Donegal, Kilkenny and North Dublin most at risk.
Water chiefs want businesses and homeowners to conserve the precious resource as it emerged more than half a billion litres were used in the greater Dublin area alone last Friday.
Spokeswoman Kate Gannon said: “Demand for water is increasing while levels in rivers and lakes are dropping significantly which means there is less water available to treat and supply homes and businesses.
“This year has seen extended dry spells and Met Eireann has compared this to 1976 when drought conditions were experienced across the country.
“Already some areas in Athlone, Kilkenny and North Dublin have experienced outages and restrictions and areas in Donegal and Mullingar have been identified as being at risk.
“In the greater Dublin area, where Irish Water can sustainably produce 610 mega litres of water per day, demand has risen to concerning levels.
“Last Friday in the greater Dublin area 602 mega litres
[602 million litres] of water was used which is very close to the limit of sustainable production.
“If demand does not decrease we will start to see homes and businesses on the edge of the network in the greater Dublin area experience shortages, as happened in Skerries in recent weeks.
“The longer this continues, the more people will be at risk of shortages and outages.” PET owners have been urged to take extra care of their furry friends as temperatures soar – particularly rabbits.
Bairbre O’malley, from a veterinary hospital in Bray, told RTE Radio 1: “Rabbits do not tolerate heat at all.
“Any temperatures above 26C they can get heatstroke and die, particularly if they have a heavy coat or if they’re overweight.
“A rabbit drinks as much as a small dog and need a lot of water.
“So normally you might have one water bottle, in this fine weather I’d recommend two water bottles a day.
“And must make sure they are hydrated so they don’t suddenly die.” COSTA del Ireland will continue to bask in the sun this week – with a status yellow high temperature warning in place until Friday night.
Met Eireann issued the notice yesterday morning as the mercury is set to hit a sauna-like 31C in the coming days.
That would make it as hot as Amman in Jordan, which baked in 31C
Ruth
Wallnutt, Caitlin Glover and Ina Caul at Portmarnock Strand yesterday and hotter than Israel (28C), Jerusalem (28C) and Hawaii (29C).
Oak Park in Co Carlow recorded the highest temperature of 27.5C followed by Shannon Airport which reached 26.7C and Phoenix Park which smouldered in 24.8C heat.
Today will be another day of sunshine with highs of 28C, as Met Eireann officially confirmed we’re enjoying a heatwave.
Harm Luijkx revealed the good news on RTE’S Morning Ireland radio programme yesterday and said the warm conditions may continue into next week.
The Dutch meteorologist added: “We had the first day yesterday with temperatures over 26C.
“Day five will be Thursday, more than likely we will get a heatwave this week.”
Mr Luijkx said we could possibly see our hottest June in 40 years.
He added: “The temperature record for this month is around 31C and this is from 1976, one of the hottest summers, if anyone remembers.”
Met Eireann predicts the high pressure and settled weather will persist throughout the week with warm, dry and sunny conditions countrywide.
Forecaster Siobhan Ryan told RTE: “Tuesday will be very warm or hot, with spells of hazy sunshine.
“But values will be lower in many coastal areas due to refreshing onshore