According to the Met Office, last month was, the hottest June recorded on the Maltese Islands since 1923.

The first heatwave of the meteorological summer struck the islands between the 8th and 10th June, with the mercury nudging a blistering 37.8°C on June 9th, which became the hottest day of the month, it said.

These two warm spells heated up the islands with mean maximum temperatures 5°C higher than the climatic norm being recorded over two days.

The Met Office noted that the average air temperature during the month was 26.3°C. The lowest minimum temperature was recorded on the first day, which saw temperatures drop to 14.6°C.

According to the World Meteorological Organisation, the average temperature recorded in June throughout Europe was 2°C above average, making last June the hottest on record for the entire European continent.

June was also drier than average locally, given that no precipitation was measured during the month. June was therefore one of only 4 Junes in the past 70 years to not record any precipitation. The mean total cloud cover for the month also fell below average, standing at 1.5 oktas.

The sun shone for 349.9 hours throughout June across the Maltese Islands, surpassing the climate norm by almost 22 hours. The brightest day was recorded on June 3rd with 13.1 hours of sunshine, while the dullest day saw an equally enjoyable 7.4 hours of sunshine on June 15th.

The average sea surface temperature in June stood at 22.5 °C; one degree warmer than the climate norm of 21.5°C.

Photograph by Alain Salvary

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