Temperatures drop slightly since yesterday's record

Thermometers around Ireland are showing a slight dip since yesterday's record highs, but the heatwave is set to continue for at least another day, Met Éireann has predicted.

The highest temperature recorded in Ireland today was 29.5 degrees Celsius at Baldonnel Airport in Co Dublin.

This is a drop over the 31 degrees measured in some areas of the Midlands yesterday, which was the hottest day for over a decade.

Tomorrow will see the beginning of the end of the current heatwave. Although there will be sunny spells, they may be accompanied by scattered showeres. Temperatures will moderate to reach the low to mid-20s. "You're still talking about very good summer weather," a Met Éireann spokesman said.

An area of low pressure moves in from the Atlantic tomorrow evening, bringing with it the possibility of thundery showers that could last a couple of days.

The hottest weather  last year was also during July, with temperatures reaching over 25°C in most places. In many places, it was the highest temperature since the record-breaking summer of 1995. In Kilkenny, temperatures reached 29.2°C on July 11 ^thand 12 ^th.

The highest air temperature ever recorded in Ireland was 33.3°C at Kilkenny Castle in June 1887. The record during the last century was 32.5°C at Boora, Co Offaly in June 1976.

The Irish Cancer Society has warned the public to ensure they protect themselves from the sunshine by using high-factor sun cream. One in every eight men in Ireland and 10 per cent of women will develop skin cancer by the age of 74.

The main cause of such cancers, 90 per cent of which are preventable, are over-exposure to the sun and sunbeds. The incidence of skin cancer in Ireland is among the highest in Europe.

Authorities scrambled to save lives in a heatwave in northern Europe today, hoping to avoid a repeat of the hot weather in 2003 that killed 15,000 people in France and 2,000 in Britain. In France, an 85-year-old man admitted to hospital and an 81-year-old woman found dead in her home were the first people believed to have died there because of the heat.

The mayor of Paris announced free residential parking and advised people to avoid motorised transport to reduce the danger of ozone pollution.

In Britain, temperatures were expected to top 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit), hitting an all-time high for July.

The government launched an emergency plan of extra visits to elderly and vulnerable people. Bookmakers stopped taking bets that temperatures would soar above 37.77C (100 degrees Fahrenheit) for what would be only the second time on record

The searing heat and expected storms later in the week threatened to damage northern Europe's wheat crop just days before the harvest, which will push up prices, analysts said. France and Germany were the main countries affected. The harvests in southern Europe have already finished.

Additional reporting: Agencies