The Malta Met Office said that it has been a warmer, yet wetter than average meteorological summer following a rainy August.

Some of the highlights were:

• 17mm of rain recorded between June and August, exceeding the climatic norm by 1.4mm.

• This meteorological summer brought one heatwave that spanned over three days.

• Average temperatures were at least 1.6°C warmer than the climatic norm.

August signalled that autumn was just around the corner as it brought showers and thunderstorms towards the end of the month.

The total rainfall recorded in one day in August tipped the scales to confirm this past meteorological summer as one that was wetter than the climatic norm. In fact, on August the 22nd alone, 13.2mm of rain was recorded, making August 2024 3.5mm wetter than average.

The Met Office noted that apart from August, June was the only other month to produce rainfall (3.8mm), slightly alleviating the seasonal drought. In total, 17mm of rain were recorded during the meteorological summer, exceeding the climatic norm by 1.4mm.

Only one heatwave was recorded between June and July. While last year’s July heatwave spanned over ten days, this year’s was relatively short in comparison, lasting from June 20th to the 22nd , with temperatures exceeding 35°C on all three days.

A closer look at the temperatures reveals that all three months of the meteorological summer were warmer than the climatic norm. June, July, and even August were 1.6°C warmer than the climatic average, with average temperatures of 25.8°C, 28.5°C, and 29.1°C, respectively.

The Met Office said that high temperatures, even in the months leading up to summer, also resulted in the sea warming up faster than usual. In fact, the average sea surface temperature in June stood at 23.7°C (norm 22°C), rising by more than 3°C to 26.9°C (norm 25.2°C) in July, and reaching 28.9°C (norm 26.7°C) in August.

Weather highlights from last month

• On August 3rd , the highest temperature of the month was recorded at 37°C. The highest temperature ever recorded in August was 43.8°C in 1999.

• The lowest temperature was recorded on August 7th , dropping to 23.3°C. The lowest temperature ever recorded in August was 15.9°C in 1972.

• One thunderstorm was recorded on August 28th .

• The average wind speed was 6.3 knots, consistent with the norm. The strongest gust of wind reached 27 knots from the West by North on August 20th .

• The sunniest day was August 1st , with 12.7 hours of sunshine being measured, while the dullest day was August 5 th , with only six hours of sunshine recorded by the Meteorological Office.

File photo: Gozo News/Alain Salvary

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