It is going to be another very warm day in many parts of the country, with temperatures expected to reach up to 31 degrees in some areas.
A status-yellow high-temperature warning for Leinster and Tipperary came into effect at 6am on Wednesday and will remain in place until 6am on Friday.
Temperatures could reach up to 30 or 31 degrees in these areas on Thursday afternoon, Met Éireann said.
The national forecaster said the potential impacts of the hot weather included water safety issues due to increased use of beaches, lakes and rivers; uncomfortable sleeping conditions; heat stress and animal welfare issues.
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Night-time temperatures will not drop below 15 degrees in most areas.
It will be mainly dry in Munster and Leinster but showers are expected to move eastward in the evening, Met Éireann said.
Highest temperatures will generally range from 23 to 30 or 31 degrees, hottest further and east, while temperatures will be closer to 20 degrees in coastal parts of the west and southwest, with some hill and coastal mist and fog at times.
Friday will still be warm but not as hot, with highest temperatures set to range from 17 degrees in the northwest up to 24 or 25 degrees in the south and east.
Uisce Éireann said a nationwide hosepipe ban could be extended if the hot weather continued. The ban is currently due to remain in place until August 26th.
Margaret Attridge, head of water operations at Uisce Éireann, said the ban “could potentially be extended”.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime programme, she said although parts of the country such as the northwest had seen “some levels of rainfall in the last few weeks which has made that area more stable ... potentially, we could consider extending the water conservation order regionally”.
Attridge said the organisation was “keeping everything under review” and “continuing to monitor all supplies across the country”.
“Lifting [the ban] will be dependent on a number of factors – the weather forecast, the soil moisture deficit,” she explained.
“The small bits of rain that are forecast in some areas of the country over the next few days isn’t going to do much to change the soil moisture deficit, so it won’t do much to recharge our lake and river sources.”
