An air of near-emergency has settled over the country as the heatwave inches towards its third week. Night-time temperatures have not dipped below sweltering for more days than anyone can count. With crankiness levels forecast to peak on Sunday, Ireland has plummeted 17 places in the World Happiness Index. People who didn’t get around to booking a holiday abroad are congratulating themselves on their foresight, and everyone who did is googling “how much to cancel a flight” before deciding that forfeiting €1,135 to not have to go to Spain is actually good value.

So as we brace for more terrible, glorious weather in the coming week, here are all your pressing – and not so pressing – heatwave questions answered.

 Should I put my Dryrobe up on Vinted? Few of us managed to survive the last great national unpleasantness, the Covid pandemic, without acquiring one. Should you now sell it, since you no longer require it for “wild swimming” - or –s people outside of Dublin refer to it, “swimming”? Don’t. Even if you never go “wild swimming” again, the Dryrobe will come in handy for what the Copernicus Institute warns will be winters of the future. See point 11 below.

Are tan lines cool now? The 1990s are cool again – and along with the revival of Take That and the Rachel haircut, tan lines are suddenly everywhere. In further proof, if any were needed, of the human........

© The Irish Times