Main PointsA nationwide high-temperature warning for the Republic has been extended into Saturday by Met ÉireannYellow thunderstorm warnings for counties Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Clare, Tipperary, Kildare, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Westmeath and all of Connacht came into force from 9am until 6pmA separate thunderstorm warning for Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Longford and all of Connacht will continue from 6pm to 10pmIn Northern Ireland thunderstorm warnings are in place for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry until 10pm Three stations in Ireland have now met heatwave criteria, Met Éireann confirmed this lunchtimeA heat dome has pushed temperatures above 40 degrees in parts of western Europe this week, leading to hundreds of deaths The UN has said the heatwave is due to climate change and there is worse to come Key ReadsCattle coping with heat but farmers foresee problems if it persistsWhy is it so hot and when will Ireland’s ‘exceptionally warm weather’ end?Do I have to go to work during Ireland’s heatwave?From sunscreen to staying cool: how to keep yourself and your family safe in the heat‘Bathers should take care’: Swimmers advised to avoid some spots in Dublin due to rainfallIn pictures: Europe swelters in heat domeStephen Conneely - 1 minute agoUK recorded for hottest day in June broken, againAnd the UK record for the hottest June day ever has now been broken again, with 37.1C provisionally recorded in Cavendish, Suffolk, England, this afternoon, the Met Office said. - GuardianStephen Conneely - 49 minutes agoWHO warns of serious illness due to the heatwaveThe World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that “heat can make people seriously ill”, especially those with pre-existing health conditions. It flagged headaches, dizziness, nausea, cramps, palpitations, excessive sweating and unusual tiredness as early signs to watch out for in a statement on social media.Heat can make people seriously ill. Knowing the signs saves lives.⚠️Here’s what to watch out for: Headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps, palpitations, excessive sweating or unusual tiredness. Heat and air pollution together hit harder and for people with cardiovascular or… pic.twitter.com/lQ2jd0A3V8— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) June 26, 2026 1 hour agoHeatwave status in Ireland confirmedThree weather stations – Oak Park, Co Carlow, Moore Park, Co Cork, and Gurteen, Co Tipperary – have now met heatwave criteria after they recorded temperatures above 25 degrees for five consecutive days, including today, Met Éireann has confirmed.Three stations have also, provisionally, had tropical nights last night. These were:Oak Park, Co Carlow (20.3 degrees)Casement Aerodrome, Co Dublin (20.4 degrees)Cork Airport, Co Cork (20 degrees) Seven of Met Éireann’s automatic stations also had tropical nights ending 9am this morning, the forecaster said:Portlaoise WWTP, Co Laois (21 degrees) Curragh Racecourse, Co Kildare (20.8 degrees) Clonmel WWTP, Co Tipperary (20.7 degrees) Edenderry (Ballinla), Co Offaly (20.3 degrees) Durrow (Castlewood), Co Laois (20.2 degrees) Piltown (Kildalton Agri College), Co Kilkenny (20 degrees)Bunclody WWTP, Co Wexford (20 degrees)2 hours ago8,000 without power in Ireland as a result of lightning strikesESB networks reported that there were still approximately 8,000 customers without power this morning, as a result of lightning strikes, and crews were on the ground working to resolve those issues. Further thunderstorms may impact additional customers, and the public is reminded of the dangers posed by fallen live wires. The advice is to stay away from any fallen cables or damaged electricity equipment and to report such cases to the ESB immediately.3 hours agoGenoa becomes 18th Italian city covered by red heatwave alert In Italy, Genoa has become the 18th Italian city covered by the red extreme health alert, ANSA news agency reported.It joins 17 cities that already were on red alert, including some of major tourist attractions of Bologna, Florence, Rome, Turin and Verona. Palermo’s courthouse suspended hearings until June 29th, while Florence’s Uffizi Gallery said it has extended a suspension of ticket sales imposed earlier this week, with only people with previous bookings allowed to enter, ANSA said. “Due to the exceptional heatwave currently affecting the country (and Florence in particular) access to the Uffizi Gallery will be restricted to those with a pre-booked ticket only until and including Sunday 28 June. We apologise for any inconvenience caused,” Uffizi said in a statement.4 hours agoExtreme heat adds pressure to food suppliesThe scorching heat sweeping Europe has parched soils, distressed livestock and is keeping farmers away from fields, superseding the Iran war as the greatest challenge to food supplies.In France, record-breaking temperatures are damaging corn crops and wiping out hundreds of thousands of chickens. In Spain, pigs are losing their appetite and some fruit is threatened at the key blossoming stage. In the UK, distressed cows are producing less milk.Though the heat wave will ease by early next week, extreme weather has overshadowed the Middle East conflict as the biggest concern for farmers. Meteorologists are warning of above-normal temperatures for months to come as a developing El Niño compounds the impact of climate change for an industry already facing high fertiliser and fuel costs.El Niño – a climate phenomenon that disrupts normal weather patterns every few years – has contributed to the heat wave across western Europe. This week, temperature highs were reached in the UK and France, where a record 72 departments are under red heat alerts, with similar warnings in effect in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.Beyond Europe, El Niño is already impacting Asia’s food supplies. In India, it’s delayed the monsoon and reduced rainfall, a risk to rice and sugar. And in Vietnam, parts of the coffee belt are drying up.“Even if energy and fertiliser markets normalise, adverse weather conditions in major producing regions could still tighten supplies and place upward pressure on food prices,” Máximo Torero, chief economist at the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation, said by email.France, Europe’s top farming nation, has been the epicentre of the heatwave for more than a week, straining a corn crop that farmers finished planting just weeks ago.“Some of my corn crops look stressed, with darker colour and their structure has changed. They look less like corn and more like leeks,” Franck Laborde, a farmer in Pyrénées-Atlantiques in southwest France, said. – Bloomberg 4 hours agoHere are some photos from the heatwave across Europe today:Birds fly past a window hidden by an emergency blanket during a heatwave in Lyon, central-eastern France. Photograph: Olivier Chassignole/AFP via Getty Images A youth cools down along the Canal Saint-Martin as France experiences a heatwave, in Paris. Photograph: Ludovic Marin/AFP via Getty Images A woman cools off at a fountain during a hot day in downtown Zagreb, Croatia. Reports state that in recent days Croatia has recorded high temperatures exceeding 38 degrees. Photograph: European Pressphoto Agency 4 hours agoMotorway in Germany buckles due to heatExtreme heat caused the surface of the A2 motorway in eastern Germany to buckle and rupture over several lanes on Thursday evening, according to the BZ newspaper, damaging up ⁠to 30 vehicles, leaving two people with minor injuries and forcing the ​highway to be closed.5 hours agoFirefighters respond to large wildfire in UKFirefighters are trying to bring a large wildfire in Derbyshire, England, under control. The blaze, which has burned more than 500sq m of moorland and woodland on Tintwistle Moor, near Glossop, broke out on Wednesday evening. Fire crews from Manchester and Derbyshire deployed a water-dropping helicopter and six fire engines on Thursday.Thick clouds of smoke are affecting local villages and forcing road closures, while ash and smoke are impacting air quality in parts of Bolton and Greater Manchester.5 hours agoParis Pride March postponed over extreme temperature warningsOrganisers postponed the French capital’s weekend Pride march after police ordered them to change the date to avoid overwhelming response services already under pressure due to extreme heat, AFP reports.6 hours agoParis police ask organisers of Pride and a music festival to cancel due to heatThe Paris police have asked the organisers of the Pride march and the Solidays music festival to cancel their events due to the continuing extreme heat.“While the weather forecast shows no improvement, some large-scale cultural or protest events, such as the Solidays festival, the Pride march and the athletics meeting at the Charléty stadium, are still scheduled for this weekend despite the adjustments made by the organisers and their efforts to increase their internal first aid capacity,” police said in a statement.“The influx of several hundred thousand people to these events will create a high risk of overburdening a healthcare system already stretched to its limits.” Therefore, the Prefect of Police has asked the organisers to cancel their events, adding that should they refuse, the Prefect of Police will “prohibit them by decree”.7 hours ago55 drownings in France since start of heatwave In France, the number of people who have drowned during the heatwave has risen to 55, sports minister Marina Ferrari told Franceinfo.She is worried the situation could get worse as the heatwave continues. In comments reported by Le Figaro, she said two-thirds of the drownings took place at unsupervised or unauthorised swimming areas. Sixty one French departments remain under the highest red extreme heat alert today.A person cools down in a fountain at Place des Vosges during the heatwave in Paris. Photograph: Dmitry Kostyukov/The New York Times