Swimmers are being warned about the dangers of 'cold water shock' if they're planning a dip during the current cold spell.
They're being warned to cut back on their time in the water, to be well-prepared, and to never swim alone.
International Ice Mile Swimmer, Fergal Somerville, says even experienced winter swimmers need to be extra-cautious:
"The water temperature for open water swimmers has dropped to about 3.8 degrees Celsius around the country. That's a 6 Celsius drop in two weeks. The first week, we're below five degrees Celsius in the last three years. People are going in where temperature has dropped three degrees in a week, and six degrees in two weeks, and that's a big big change for anybody swimming - so there has to take care".
