As Ireland prepares for a mini-heatwave with temperatures of up to 32C over the coming days, staying well hydrated is more important than ever.
Met Eireann has issued an official Status Yellow weather warning for the entire country with 'exceptionally warm' conditions incoming on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Irish people can expect temperatures of 25 to 30 degrees across the country with highs of possibly up to 32 degrees in places on Monday.
While many are looking forward to basking in the sun, extremely hot weather can pose a number of health risks, especially to vulnerable people, including heat stress, sunburn and dehydration.
READ MORE: Met Éireann issue Status Yellow weather warning with 'exceptionally warm' 32C possible on Monday
So how much water do you need to drink in order to stay hydrated during the heatwave?
According to the Irish Heart Foundation, men need to drink slightly more water than women - and we should all be intaking even more fluids in hot weather.
They wrote on their website: "It is recommended that women should drink about 1.6 litres and men about 2 litres of water per day.
"That’s about eight glasses of 200ml each for a woman, and 10 glasses of 200ml each for a man.
"However, you will need to drink more if you are exercising or if it’s hot i.e. if you are sweating more."
There's a few ways to tell if you are drinking enough water.
Being thirsty is one sign that you are dehydrated and you should drink more.
However, there is one clear way to measure your level of hydration, which is by checking the colour of your urine.
"If it’s pale straw [colour] then you’re drinking enough if it is any darker then you need to drink more to flush out your body’s waste products," the website states.
Five tips to help people stay hydrated:
1. Infuse your water with fruit such as lemon and mint or cucumber and strawberry
2. Keep a bottle of water with you at all times
3. Put fruit-flavoured ice cubes in your drink
4. Keep your water chilled to encourage you to drink more
5. Hot drinks like tea and coffee count towards your daily fluid intake
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