LAST UPDATE | 18 Jul 2023
GOOD MORNING.
Here’s everything you need to know as you start your day.
Cerberus Heatwave
1. More temperature records are expected to tumble on today as Europe awaits the peak of a punishing heatwave.
Wildfires are also scorching swathes of the Northern Hemisphere, forcing the evacuation of 1,200 children close to a Greek seaside resort.
Wetter and warmer at home
2. Average temperatures were higher in the last 30 years than the 30 before across all seasons of the year, according to new figures released by Met Éireann.
Between 1991 and 2020, mean temperatures were higher throughout the country for spring, summer, autumn and winter than they were between 1961 and 1990.
Levels of sunshine and rainfall both increased, with some counties experiencing a more notable jump in rainfall than others, particularly in the north and west of the country.
TV licence
3. There was a significant drop in the number of TV licences issued in the first week of July compared to the same time last year, new figures show.
11,241 licences were issued in the first week of July, compared to 15,432 in 2022.
The fall in people paying TV licences comes as national broadcaster has been embroiled in controversy for weeks since the revealation it had under-reported Tubridy’s salary and failed to declare hundreds of thousands of euros in additional payments to him.
Ukraine grain deal
4. Russia has refused to extend a deal to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea.
Moscow’s invasion last year saw Ukraine’s Black Sea ports blocked by warships until the agreement, brokered by the UN and Turkey and signed in July 2022, allowed for the passage of critical grain shipments.
South Korea rescue
5. Rescue workers recovered the last body and ended search operations at a flooded underpass in South Korea where more than a dozen people died.
The incident is now the subject of multiple official probes.
The interior ministry said that 41 people were killed and another nine were still missing nationwide in the heavy downpours, most of them buried by landslides or falling into a flooded reservoir.
Dublin astroturf
A new Noteworthy analysis of planning files and satellite imagery shows a surge in the building of pitches by private businesses, schools and community groups in the capital.
Not only are astroturf pitches popping up everywhere, they are also growing in size.
Status Yellow warning
7. It’s going to be be another wet day ahead with heavy spells expected in some areas.
A Status Yellow rain warning is currently in place for Cork, Kerry and Waterford. This will remain in place until 3pm today.
Met Éireann has warned that a spell of heavy rain, followed by showers, may lead to localised flooding.
Huw Edwards
8. BBC leaders are to be grilled in the UK Parliament about the “adequacy” of the corporation’s governance arrangements following the Huw Edwards furore.
Director-general Tim Davie, acting chair Elan Closs Stephens and policy director Clare Sumner will face a pre-arranged meeting of the House of Lords’ Communications and Digital Committee today.
Poland plane crash
9. A small plane crashed into a hangar at an airfield near Warsaw yesterday, killing five people.
Polish health minister Adam Niedzielski confirmed at least seven people are injured and five have died.
Niedzielski said four helicopters and 10 ambulances were dispatched to the site of the accident in the village of Chrcynno, 47 kilometres from Warsaw.
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