Lough Boora Lake in Pullough, County Offaly hottest place on Earth today

Paul McRingo | Midlands Correspondent

For decades Death Valley in the United States held the record for the highest air temperature ever recorded on Earth. On July 10th 1913, temperatures at the aptly named Furnace Creek area in the California desert reached a blistering 48.7°C

However, today that record has finally been smashed into smithereens because the official temperature at Logh Boora Lake in Co. Offaly in the Midlands of Ireland reached a sweltering 49.5°C. Take that Donald Trump!

Ireland’s meteorological service Met Eireann issued a statement in the last few minutes that simply said ‘What in the name of Jaysus is going on?’

The next highest temperature on the planet recorded today was in a place called Lahore in Pakistan but that sounds like an awful kip so who cares!

Despite the unprecedented conditions, Offaly GAA has confirmed that all local club fixtures will go ahead as scheduled, noting that “a bit of heat never hurt anyone.”

Meanwhile the Offaly Tourism Board has already launched a brand new advertising campaign in an attempt to attract more international visitors and renamed the county the Costa del Bog.