Ireland is set for a mini-heatwave this week, with temperatures reaching the high 20s. Met Éireann is predicting hazy sunshine and warm temperatures throughout the State until Friday, with only the odd thundery shower to interrupt the good spell. Nuala Haughey reports
Yesterday's temperatures reached 25 degrees in the midlands. Mullingar, Co Westmeath, enjoyed the warmest weather, with a recorded temperature of 25.5 degrees.
This was closely followed by Shannon, Birr and Kilkenny.
Met Éireann has cautioned that the sunburn index will be high over Munster and Leinster today and medium elsewhere.
It says there is a risk of thundery showers today and tomorrow in the east, and scattered heavy showers throughout the Republic.
In mainland Europe extreme temperatures have caused scores of deaths in recent days.
In the UK train services were delayed after speed limits were put in place due to fears of rails buckling in temperatures of up to 33 degrees.
Forest fires devastated thousands of acres in Portugal, where a national disaster was declared. Cold water was sprayed over a nuclear power station in eastern France to cool it down. Fires in Spain's Extremadura region, which borders Portugal, claimed lives and forced hundreds of people to evacuate their homes.
At home, the search for a man in his 40s who got into difficulties while swimming in the Barrow River in Co Carlow was called off last night.
Friends of the man, who had been fishing earlier in the day, raised the alarm after 5 p.m. yesterday. Gardaí called off the search after dark, and it will resume today.