Professor Luke O’Neill says Ireland’s hot weather could have a surprising side effect for men.
Enjoying the sunshine at Bray Head, Co Wicklow(Image: Colin Keegan, Collins Dublin)
Ireland is continuing to enjoy an unusually warm spell, with temperatures expected to climb even higher over the coming days.
Monday saw record breaking May temperatures of 28.8C recorded at two weather stations, officially surpassing the previous May record of 28.4C set in Kerry back in 1997.
And according to Met Eireann, the hottest weather may still be on the way. The national forecaster has warned that parts of the country could see temperatures soar to 30C today and tomorrow, before conditions begin to cool slightly later in the week.
In a rare move, it has also issued a Status Yellow high temperature warning covering eight counties for a 30 hour period.
The warning came into effect at 12 noon today and remains in place until 6pm on Wednesday. It warns of “maximum temperatures in excess of 27C combined with night time minima in excess of 15C”.
The affected counties are Clare, Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Galway, Kilkenny, Laois and Offaly.
Met Eireann said potential impacts include water safety concerns due to increased use of beaches and lakes, a higher risk of forest fires, heat stress and uncomfortable sleeping conditions overnight.
Whether Ireland officially experiences a heatwave remains to be seen. Met Eireann defines a heatwave as five consecutive days with temperatures above 25C.
As temperatures continue to rise, Professor Luke O’Neill previously claimed that warm weather could have one unusual side effect for men – making them feel hungrier.
Luke O’Neill, Professor (Chair of Biochemistry) School of Biochemistry and Immunology(Image: Mick O’Neill)
The immunologist said the surprising finding emerged during a study involving 3,000 people carried out by Tel Aviv University.
Speaking to Newstalk’s Pat Kenny in 2022, Prof O’Neill said: “Sunshine is good for you – we know [that] anyway – but in men it stimulates the appetite.
“It’s a strange finding in some ways. They noticed in the men, appetite was stimulated and ate a bit more food and put on bit more weight.
The big question is, ‘Why men versus women?’ Oestrogen seems to stop this process for some reason and women have more oestrogen than men.”
The latest forecast suggests the warm conditions will continue for several more days before a change arrives towards the Bank Holiday weekend.
Met Eireann said: “It’ll become more mixed to end the week and as we move into the Bank Holiday weekend and it’ll become less warm too, but still with temperatures above average generally for a time.
“There’ll be a gradual shift to generally more unsettled conditions then over the weekend with a mobile Atlantic regime taking over, with temperatures continuing to taper back a little bit further.”
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