TODAY COULD BE the hottest day of the year in Ireland, with Met Éireann forecasting highs of 22 degrees in the south and southeast.

The national forecaster has said there will be rain moving towards the southeast, but the north will be brighter and drier this afternoon.

The weekend will be slightly cooler but Monday could see temperatures as high as 21 degrees.

Wednesday was the warmest day of the year so far, according to Met Éireann, with one weather station in Leinster recording a temperature of 22.1C.

Europe is experiencing a hot spell at the moment, with parts of the UK expected to sizzle in temperatures of 34 degrees.

The UK Health Security Agency and the Met Office have issued a Heat-Health alert for London, the East of England and the South East.

British firefighters are warning that there is an increased risk of fires due to the heatwave.

London Fire Brigade said it has already attended more than 1,430 grass and open land fires across the city this year.

This includes grassland, canal and riverbank vegetation, scrubland, parks, playgrounds, crops and woodland.

Around 350 of these were in domestic gardens and LFB said that with prolonged periods of hot weather, there is a concern these numbers will rise.

With reporting from PA