Cold, cloudy conditions with isolated showers are expected to characterise the final hours of 2025 and the first day of the new year, the Met Office said today.

On New Year’s Eve, conditions are expected to be mostly cloudy, with the chance of isolated showers at times throughout the day. The maximum temperature is forecast to reach 16°C, falling to around 12°C overnight. Winds will be moderate to rather strong during the morning (Force 4 to 5), blowing from the west-northwest, before easing and becoming light from the north by the evening.

The Met Office said that similar conditions are expected to usher in the new year. On Thursday, the 1st of January, the weather is forecast to remain mostly cloudy, again with the chance of isolated showers. Winds are expected to veer to an easterly direction and strengthen slightly during the day (Force 4–5), before easing to Force 3 as they continue to shift to a south-easterly direction.

New Year’s Day is also expected to be particularly cold, as a cold air mass originating from Siberia is forecast to dominate over Italy and the central Mediterranean. As a result, maximum daytime temperatures on Thursday are not expected to exceed 15°C, dropping to around 10°C by the evening.

For those who will not be working in the days following New Year’s Day and are planning to enjoy the remaining festive period with family and friends, more favourable conditions are expected.

Between Friday 2nd January and Sunday 4th January, the Meteorological Office is forecasting partly cloudy weather with temperatures above the seasonal average. In fact, between Thursday, the 1st and Sunday, the 4th of January, temperatures are expected to rise by around 3°C.

The coldest New Year’s Eve on record remains that of 11 years ago, when temperatures between the night of 31st of December 2014 and the 1st of January 2015 dropped to 2.1°C. On that occasion, light snowflakes were also observed briefly over the Maltese Islands. Meanwhile, New Year’s Day 2024 was the warmest of the past ten years, with temperatures reaching 18.5°C.

File photo: Gozo News/Alain Salvary

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